


The Year Of Good Things

by wordscreatereality



Series: The Ties That Bind [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-04 16:10:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 124,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3074024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordscreatereality/pseuds/wordscreatereality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver and Felicity are finally together and are determined to live life to the fullest and have promised to make the next twelve months good for each other. The criminals of Starling City and the Bratva have other ideas. This is the final installment of The Ties That Bind trilogy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. October

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 2015! I hope this year brings all of you health, happiness and prosperity.
> 
> Here is the final installment of The Ties That Bind trilogy. If you haven't already read The Ties That Bind and Lines In The Sand, I recommend you do so. I apologize this took me so long to publish. So far, season 3 has made it tough for me to keep this story on a happy track and Oliver promised Felicity a Year of Good Things and I'm determined to provide it. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

Oliver's breathing was getting faster and more erratic in her ear. The sounds of his exertion were distracting her from the task at hand and if she didn't focus on herself she'd never finish. Felicity did something she never did, she turned off her comm so she couldn't hear him as he fought. Her fingers moved frantically across the keyboard as she hacked into yet another member of the Starling City's elite's computer looking for evidence of corruption. The city's hard times had proven to be too tempting for those that knew how to make a fast buck on the backs of the less fortunate.

"Come on, Blondie." Arsenal said as he entered the office. "Our window's closing if we want to get out of here. This is your plan, remember?"

Felicity didn't look up from the monitor. "Relax. I need one more minute to complete the file transfer."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one the boss is going to torture if anything happens to you." Roy stuck his head back out the office door. "We've gotta go, now." Addressing his partners, "We've got the package and we're heading to the rendezvous."

Felicity closed her connection to her servers at the lair and started the virus that would remove any evidence of her presence on the suspect's system. She put her hand on Roy's shoulder and followed him down the hallway. "Please, Oliver would never torture you." Roy snickered. "Okay, I'm sure he'd make you stand on one foot while balancing an arrow on your nose or whatever other ridiculous training the two of you get up to when I'm not around."

"Exactly my point. He is a taskmaster when he isn't pissed with me. Imagine what he'll do if he is." Roy put his hand out to stop her forward movement while he took a peek around the corner. "You better put your comm back on. He's freaking out that you're not responding."

Felicity flipped her comm back on, but before she could say a word, Oliver's voice was filling her ear, "What's going on? Why isn't she talking? What aren't you telling me?"

"I'm fine." She said interrupting his tirade.

"What happened? Was your comm damaged?" Oliver asked. Felicity could tell that he was running.

"I was getting distracted so I shut it off." She said, regretting the truth as soon as it left her mouth. She should've gone with malfunctioning comm. Roy turned and gave her a look that clearly said, _Come on, I thought you were supposed to be a genius._

She could hear his jaw clenching. "You turned it off? What's the first rule for you being out in the field?"

"Don't ever tell the bad guy he's an idiot." She said as she followed Roy down a flight of stairs.

"Felicity." Oliver snapped.

"Dude, I'm pretty sure you said that was the number one rule after the last time." Roy winked at Felicity. Oliver had actually made that the number one rule three weeks ago when Felicity had been pinned down by gunfire as she tried to disable a firewall from inside the company they were targeting. She wasn't actually stupid enough to really call a person with a gun an idiot, it was all part of her plan. He was so busy trying to shoot the woman questioning his intelligence that he hadn't noticed the Arrow sneaking up behind him. Even after her reasonable explanation, Oliver still made it a rule.

"Roy." Oliver growled.

Felicity couldn't help but laugh when Diggle piled on. "I remember that too."

For the past six weeks that Felicity and Oliver had been dating, she and the rest of Team Arrow had decided the best way to handle his over-protectiveness was to tease him whenever he exhibited the behavior when it wasn't warranted. Often what drives us most crazy about a person is also why we love them the most. Feeling guilty that they were causing him distress, she decided to stop their teasing. "I'm sorry. Rule number one, never turn off my comm. I won't do it again."

"Hmph." He grunted in acknowledgment. "I'll see you in a few."

Felicity listened to the sound of him running, knowing every step was bringing him closer to her. She and Roy burst through the exit into the cool evening. A mist hung in the air and the night was cloaked in fog. The sound of approaching footsteps echoed around them. Roy pulled her down into a crouch as he scanned their surroundings. He made some hand gestures at her that made her roll her eyes. He sighed. "Right, I'll stay here," she whispered as she tucked herself behind a planter. Roy took off in the direction of the footsteps.

"I'm here," said Diggle. The sound of their van approaching had Felicity rising from her hiding place. As the headlights pierced the fog, Felicity turned to run and collided with a stranger. The man was tall and had a tight grip around her arms. In the darkness she could see that he was wearing a suit and tie and a dark blue trench coat that provided him protection from the light rain. He wore a fedora, but it was his face, or lack of a face that had Felicity swallowing a scream. An arrow whistled by her ear and embedded in the wall behind the man. His grip loosened and Felicity was stirred into motion by the sound of Diggle in her ear. "Go, go, go, go, go."

Felicity ran towards the van that was slowing down to match her speed. Two sets of hands reached out from the open side door and she was hauled inside as the van picked up speed. Oliver's arms crushed her into an embrace as Roy closed the door behind them. "Hey, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Oliver asked with concern. His lips pressing against her forehead. "You're shaking." Oliver lowered her onto the bench.

"I'm fine. Just surprised to see him." Felicity said trying to give him a reassuring smile. "I was starting to think you guys were making up that we had another vigilante in town."

"I guess we're not the only ones chasing Barnaby Tuddle." Roy said as he lowered his hood.

"I'm getting sick of this guy turning up wherever we go." Oliver said. "Are you sure he hasn't hacked into our comm lines?"

Felicity turned her focus back to Oliver. "I'll check again but he shouldn't be able to. Only our receivers should be able to decrypt our signals - no one else should be able to hear us."

"Felicity, you've gotten closer to him than any of us. Would you recognize him if you saw him again?" Diggle asked as he calmly navigated the van through the city.

Felicity gulped audibly. "I'd know him if I saw him again, but I don't think I can say that I'd recognize him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Oliver asked.

Felicity tightened her grip on her partner's hand. "Oliver, he didn't have a face."

xxx

They'd been back at the lair for ten minutes. Diggle had already gone home and Oliver and Roy were putting away their equipment. As soon as they arrived, Felicity had started running algorithms on the data she'd taken from Tuddle. There was nothing to do, but wait and she hated waiting. As she stared at the bar indicating the progress of her search, her mind began to wander. A lot had happened in the six weeks since Felicity and Oliver had confessed their feelings for one another, but a lot hadn't happened too. The closest the two had gotten to having sex was when Diggle interrupted with the news that Lyla had gone into labor. First it was the arrival of baby Sara who had kept Lyla in labor for twenty two hours. Oliver and Felicity didn't leave the hospital until they were able to see the baby and hug the new daddy. After, they returned to her place to sleep, but their heads had no sooner hit the pillows before an alert went off on her phone. Her searches had finally tracked Thea to Corto Maltese. Oliver, Diggle and Roy, with the assistance of A.R.G.U.S., immediately set off to bring her home. The shock of discovering that Thea had been with a not quite as dead as they thought Malcolm Merlyn had sent the team reeling. In order to convince Thea to come home, he'd been forced to reveal the truth about their father's death. Thea had returned, reluctantly, and Oliver was spending a lot of time with her, trying to undo whatever damage Merlyn had undoubtedly done. Felicity didn't begrudge Oliver spending time with Thea, but it had put a crimp in taking their relationship to the next level. Something that was becoming increasingly frustrating every time she watched a shirtless Oliver climb the salmon ladder.

To make things more complicated, the board had voted Oliver back in as the CEO. He was taking his responsibilities seriously and was working hard to restore both the reputation of the company and himself. He was pushing himself with long hours at the office and then out on the streets pursuing those that failed the city. Even after finishing his patrols, Oliver put in more hours as CEO. He was lucky to get four hours of sleep a night. Things weren't much better for Felicity. She'd returned to QC, but not as Oliver's Executive Assistant. Oliver made her Vice President of the Applied Science Technology Development group. Rumors continued to hound her that she only got her job because she was dating the boss. She no longer cared what the world thought. She knew what her true role was within QC and so did Oliver. In the end, that's all that mattered. Unfortunately for her sleep cycle, she was also spending three nights a week and her weekends at the university in order to finish up her project for Dr. Emil Hamilton before she arrived at the lair to direct their missions. Felicity no longer felt that she and sleep were on a first name basis.

The appearance of the new vigilante was also adding to the stress. So far, the new guy seemed like he was on their side, but without knowing his true motivation, they were all on edge. Something was going to have to give and Felicity worried that it would take a serious injury for Oliver to slow down. If he continued with his sleep deprivation she knew that it wasn't a matter of if he got hurt it was just a matter of when.

A gentle squeeze of her shoulder brought her back to the present. "Come on, let's get you to bed." Oliver said softly.

Felicity grinned at his unintended innuendo. "Promises, promises." She double checked that her system was running all of her queries before she grabbed her purse.

Oliver placed a gentle kiss on her lips as he pulled her in for a quick hug. "There's nothing I'd like more, except for the fact that I still need to prep for my meeting tomorrow morning with Walter and Grimes to go over the quarterly numbers to prep for the earnings call."

"Luckily for you, you have a girlfriend who annotated the heck out of the financials for you. You just need to read my notes tonight and I can quiz you on our way into the office tomorrow. I'll have you in bed in less than an hour." She said squeezing his hand as they climbed the stairs.

"Now who's making promises?" Oliver teased. "If I can get four hours of sleep tonight I might actually stay awake for the meeting."

"Oliver, why don't you take tomorrow night off?" Felicity said casually.

"Why? Do you have something planned?" He asked with a wink as he opened the passenger side door for her.

She waited for him to get in and start the car before she responded, "No, but I think you could use a solid eight hours of sleep."

"I need to take care of Tuddle tomorrow night." Oliver said through a yawn. "Why don't we plan on taking Friday night off together. I'll take you on a date- date and then I'll really get you into bed."

Felicity ignored his very tempting offer. "You're exhausted. Tomorrow night I'll probably still be amassing evidence and working with Laurel to identify what she needs to put him away. Roy and Diggle can take care of the patrol."

"Everyone's tired, Felicity. It isn't fair for me to take a night off when no one else is."

"Yes, everyone is tired, but you're more than tired. Do you want to know why I turned my comm off?" She took his silence as a, no, but continued anyway. "You sounded sluggish as you were fighting the guard. I was afraid you were going to get hurt and I couldn't listen."

"Okay," he said.

"Okay?" Skepticism flooded her voice. "You'll take tomorrow night off?"

"Yes, " he replied. "You're right, it took me way too long to take out the guard. Being tired makes you sloppy and being sloppy gets you killed. I'll take the night off." He waited for her to respond, but she sat in silence. "Felicity?"

"I don't know what to say. Whenever you're reasonable, I'm stunned into silence." She said trying to hide the grin threatening to break across her face.

"I promised you a year of good things and I haven't done a very good job this month. I figure getting injured or killed will be a surefire way to break that promise."

Since the night they learned baby Sara was about to arrive, Oliver had been true to his word. Even with all the crazy things happening around them, he still took the time every day to make sure that they were focusing on the positive. "We got Thea back. That's a very good thing and more than enough for this month." She said, placing her hand on his leg.

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. He placed a kiss on her knuckles and said, "I love you."

True to his word, Oliver took the next night off from work. He was sitting on Felicity's bed in only his sleep pants, reading the latest projections for the completion of the new Robert and Moira Queen Applied Sciences building. Felicity leaned against her door frame, watching him read. His brow was furrowed in concentration and she knew he was displeased with what he was reading. She'd been displeased when she'd read it earlier that morning. The building was over budget, behind schedule and had run into some issues with structural integrity. Some of the building materials that had been purchased had turned out to be counterfeit and had to be replaced. "You're unhappy face is really making me regret suggesting blowing up the original building."

Oliver grinned and patted the spot next to him on the bed. "I'm not happy we're behind schedule, but we lucked out we found out the steel beams were not up to code when we did. If the building had been finished without discovering the problem first, a lot of people could've died, including you."

Oliver cupped her cheek and she kissed his palm. "Hey, I'm fine. We found out and now we're fixing it."

"That's not what has me worried." He leaned against her headboard and stared at the ceiling. "We can't be the only ones this crap was sold to. With all the rebuilding efforts going on in the city right now, how many of the new constructions are actually death traps?"

Felicity removed the paperwork from his lap and put it on the nightstand. As she turned off the light she said,"It's nine o'clock, you promised me you'd get eight hours of sleep. You're not allowed to worry until tomorrow."

Oliver turned his head towards her and grinned. "I'm not tired." She bit her bottom lip and swung a leg across his thighs to straddle him. She ran her fingers through his hair and began to place gentle kisses across his face. He sighed, "Mmmm, that feels good."

She tried to tamp down her disappointment as she realized her ministrations were having the opposite effect of her intent. She could feel him relaxing beneath her fingers and knew he was about to fall asleep. She kissed his jaw and made a move to return to her side of the bed when Oliver's hands banded around her waist and pulled her against him as he laid them both down. He nuzzled her neck before settling his head just above her heart. "I love you," she whispered as she made lazy circles across his back.

"I love you. Felicity?" He asked groggily. "Will you go on a date-date with me tomorrow?"

She tried not to think of all the work she had to do on their Tuddle investigation. She knew Oliver was impatient to take him down. She also knew that he'd want her to look into the supplier who sold their contractor the faulty steel beams. Life with Oliver was always going to be a never ending balancing act and they both needed to learn to make time for each other. The criminals would always be there, so they might as well take some occasional time for themselves. If he was going to make an effort, so was she. "Yes."

"And Felicity," he said placing a kiss to her breastbone.

"Yes, Oliver."

"You better get eight hours of sleep tonight too because I don't plan on letting you get any sleep tomorrow night." Felicity gulped and knew he could feel it from his position on her chest. "And Felicity," he said seductively.

"Yes, Oliver." Her voice sounded breathier than she intended.

"That, is a promise."


	2. November

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic Sage gives the Arrow some disturbing news about the Bratva

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos for the first chapter of this story. It is gratifying to know that so many of you enjoy this version of Oliver and Felicity as much as I do. I would also like to thank all of my new readers who've discovered The Ties That Bind and Lines In The Sand and have sent me such lovely comments.
> 
> I apologize for the delay in posting Chapter 2. I have to confess that this story has gotten away from me a bit. I thought I'd make each chapter a month in the life of their year of good things. The chapters have become monsters. I hope the length of the chapters aren't a deterrent for you. I've been editing this chapter for more than a week and I've decided to just release it into the universe and let all of you decide if you think I should do shorter chapters and abandon the idea of each chapter being a month in their lives.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

Felicity ducked into a coffee shop to get out of the driving rain. Oliver had gone to lunch with Thea and Walter so Felicity had decided to use her Oliver free time to run some errands to prepare for Thanksgiving. She'd volunteered to host a dinner since she had a lot to be grateful for this year, they all did. She was looking forward to spending the day away from work, both QC and Team Arrow. Everyone was coming, Diggle, Lyla, baby Sara, Roy, Thea, Laurel, Laurel's new boyfriend, Ted, Captain Lance and Walter. Felicity had even gotten Sara to promise to try to make it back for the holiday. Felicity wasn't sure how'd they explain Nyssa to Walter, but Sara promised that Nyssa would dial back on the whole 'Heir to the Demon' stuff around civilians. Felicity wanted to make the holiday extra special for Oliver and Thea since it was their first one without their mom. She couldn't remember the last time she'd looked so forward to a holiday. They were going to watch football, eat too much and then have a movie marathon. Oliver had promised four solid days off and she planned on spending three of them naked in bed with him.

She texted Oliver to ask him to pick her up at the coffee shop on his way back to the office from lunch. She decided to have a latte while she waited. As she held the steaming mug she realized that she wasn't the only one seeking refuge from the rain. There wasn't an empty table in the whole cafe. "Felicity." She turned towards the sound of her name. Across the room, Vic Sage stood up from his table and waved her over.

She hadn't seen her ex since the morning of her mom's funeral. They'd parted as friends and there was no reason for her not to join him. He was sitting with another man, so she didn't need to worry about them rehashing their old relationship. "Hi, Vic," she said as he kissed her cheek.

"Felicity, this is my friend Richard Dragon. Richard, this is Felicity Smoak. Richard and I met when we were both in Iraq." Vic said as way of introduction.

Richard stood up and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you Felicity."

"You too." Felicity said as she took a seat. "We keep meeting like this." Felicity said to Vic.

"I promise not to spill anything on you this time." Vic said with a wink.

"That's okay, I'm already soaking wet. A cup of coffee won't make much difference."

"You look well. I see the cast is gone." Vic's fingers brushed across her wrist. "It healed okay?"

"Yep, good as new." She took a sip of her latte.

"And Oliver, he's well too?" Vic said almost nonchalantly.

"Yes, he's doing well too." So much for it not being awkward.

"The two of you have been making lots of headlines lately. Congratulations on QC." Felicity was grateful he focused on the business stories and left out the tabloid stories about their relationship. The paparazzi had caught them on their date in October and had been relentless ever since.

"Thank you, but that was all Oliver." It was one thing for Walter and the board to know that Felicity was instrumental in returning Oliver to the CEO position, but as far as the press was concerned, she was just his gold-digging assistant turned gold-digging girlfriend.

"I think we both know that's not true." Vic said as he took a sip of his own coffee.

"So, how are you? Working on anything interesting?" Felicity asked, changing the subject. "I'm sure you've got your eye on something."

"I do what I do best, follow the money. Starling City's been receiving lots of redevelopment money from the federal government and non-profit groups, but it doesn't all seem to be making its way to the people who really need it. There are some people getting rich off the misfortune of others."

"He's made some people angry." Richard said. "He's been receiving threats."

Felicity watched as Vic flashed an angry look to his friend. Vic would pursue the truth no matter the personal cost. "I hope you're being careful."

"As careful as I can be. The police aren't looking into it and your friend, the Arrow, seems to have his hands full these days."

"You know the Arrow?" Richard asked.

"No, I don't." Felicity said. It was bad enough that Vic, a member of the fourth estate, had his suspicions, he didn't need to casually mention them to random strangers in coffee shops.

"She's being modest, the Arrow's saved her life on more than one occasion." Vic challenged.

"That doesn't mean I know him." Felicity said coolly, glancing at the time on her phone.

"Yes, but you also told me nothing was going on between you and Queen." Vic had a smile on his face but it didn't quite make it to his eyes.

Felicity stood up. "Richard, it was very nice to meet you. I'm going to wait for my ride out front. Vic, be safe. Happy Thanksgiving."

Felicity huddled under the awning of the coffee shop and checked her phone. Oliver was still a few minutes away. She checked the road for an available cab. "I'm sorry. I was an ass. Please come back inside." Vic said as he placed a hand against her back. "You shouldn't get soaked because I'm acting like a child."

"My ride will be here soon." Felicity looked into his warm brown eyes and could see the man she'd grown to care about. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, Vic. It was never my intention to. I really enjoyed our time together."

"The heart wants what the heart wants. I get it. It just sucks when the heart of who your heart wants, wants someone else." Vic lit a cigarette.

"You're smoking again?" When they began dating he'd been off cigarettes for six months. "You were doing so well."

"Yeah, stress is a trigger for me." Vic exhaled away from her. "Nothing like receiving some not so veiled threats to pump up the craving for nicotine."

Concerned, Felicity asked, "Are you really receiving death threats?"

"It goes with the territory. I'm sure it's nothing." Vic took another drag on his cigarette.

Felicity didn't want to think too hard about what it said about her that all of the men in her life pursued risks with no concern to their personal safety. "You're looking into some dangerous men. You should take the threats seriously."

Vic dropped his cigarette to the ground. "Richard isn't just my friend. He's my new bodyguard, courtesy of channel 52."

"I'm glad you've got someone watching your back." Diggle pulled up in front of the cafe. "That's my ride. It was good seeing you." Felicity sprinted to the car, the door already opened by Diggle.

"Hey, Felicity." Vic called to her and she turned. "If you ever talk to your green friend, let him know I might have some info that could help him."

VVVVV

Felicity stood next to Oliver's desk in her bare feet on top of a fluffy towel from the executive washroom. She used another towel to dry off her hair. Oliver was sitting on the sofa, watching her. He hadn't said a word to her since before lunch. He sat silently in the back of his car and stared at her the whole ride back to the office. Finally, she'd had enough brooding and stomped over to the sofa. "Do you have something to say to me?"

"How's Vic?" He asked with a smug smile.

"Really?" She pointed to his face and drew small circles with her finger. "What's this face? Are you jealous?"

"I trust you." He huffed.

"I should say so, mister." Felicity couldn't believe he'd say something as stupid as, _I trust you_. If the past two years had proven nothing else, they proved she was trustworthy.

Oliver laughed and she realized her internal monologue hadn't quite stayed internal. "I'm sorry, you're right. Trusting you goes without saying." He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not jealous, I'm worried. He said something right before you got into the car that upset you. What was it?"

Felicity dropped heavily onto the sofa. "He wants me to arrange a meeting between him and my green friend."

Oliver arched his brow. "Your green friend? It makes me sound like a frog. What does he want? An interview?"

She squirmed on the sofa trying to get comfortable. The sofa might look good but it was incredibly uncomfortable. Or, maybe it was the conversation making her uncomfortable. Discussing her ex-boyfriend with her current boyfriend was pretty awkward. She had no idea how Oliver navigated being in the same room with Laurel, Sara and her. "No, he says he has information about some criminals he's been investigating. I think he's in trouble and looking for help."

"What do you want me to do?" Oliver asked.

"It doesn't matter what I want." She said.

"Of course it does, you cared about him. I think you still do." Oliver looked like he was sucking on a lemon.

"What would you say to his request if we didn't have a past history?" There was a part of her that wanted Oliver and Vic to stay as far away from one another as possible. Another part of her wanted Oliver to help Vic because she worried her ex was going to get himself killed.

"Honestly, he's a reporter, I wouldn't go near him, but then again, he's a good reporter and might know something useful." Oliver shrugged.

"Okay, so we forget he asked." Felicity pulled away from Oliver, picked up her shoes and headed towards his door. "Your next appointment is with the department heads of Applied Sciences and it starts in ten minutes. I need to go make myself presentable."

Oliver stood up and ran his hands over his head. "Felicity, if you really think he's in trouble, I'll meet with him."

Felicity could see the reluctance on his face. He was willing to help, he probably just preferred to do it from a distance. "How about I tell him that the Arrow won't meet with him in person, but he can give me whatever information he has and I'll deliver it?"

"If he's in trouble, I don't want you making yourself a target. I'll meet with him." Oliver smiled as she headed towards the executive washroom. "Maybe we should give him what we've found on the faulty building materials. At the very least he can shine a light on the Building Inspector's office."

Felicity padded over to him and gently tugged on his tie. More than anything, she wanted to give him a kiss, but they'd enacted a strict professional behavior only policy for the office. "I do love you, you know."

"I do."

VVVVV

In the end, they decided that they'd both meet Vic. With the anti-vigilante task force disbanded, Oliver was no longer worried about covert sting operations and Felicity was confident that Captain Lance would give her advance warning if the Arrow was about to be arrested. Oliver hadn't wanted her to come, but she hoped that her presence would have a calming influence on both men. Felicity spotted Vic by the glow from his cigarette as soon as she stepped onto the roof. She'd opted to take the stairs and Oliver had decided on making a more dramatic entrance. If given a choice, Felicity would always take stairs over zip-lining between buildings. Clinging to Oliver was a fantasy come true. Clinging to Oliver while trying not to think about plummeting to her death was more of a nausea inducing nightmare. True they'd had a lot of practice, but it never got easier. "You know, studies say that an ex-smoker who resumes smoking is at a greater risk of getting lung cancer. Those things are going to kill you." Just because they were no longer dating didn't mean she wanted to see him die from cancer.

"I'm pretty sure I won't live long enough to worry about the repercussions of this cigarette." Vic said as he dropped the cigarette and put it out with the toe of his shoe.

Felicity hurried to his side. "Why? What's happened since we last talked?"

Vic smiled. "It's okay, Felicity. No new death threats. I've received an offer from a cable news channel to cover the war in Syria."

"Are you taking it?" Felicity asked with concern. Syria wasn't the safest place for western journalists. Vic was almost as big an adrenaline junkie as Oliver. Neither met a danger they weren't eager to run towards.

"I'm considering it - which is why I wanted to meet with your green friend. Where is he?" Vic asked impatiently.

"I'm here." Oliver stepped out of the shadows, his voice disguised by the synthesizer. "Why do you want to see me?"

Vic took a cautious step towards the Arrow. "I've been doing some investigative work into how money that has been earmarked for re-development seems to be disappearing. I think you've been running your own investigations."

"What of it?" Oliver rasped.

Vic raised his hands. "No judgment here, buddy. I'm a convert to your cause. I've just come across some information and I might be in over my head. Besides, as I was telling Felicity, I might be leaving the city for some time abroad. I don't want these guys to get away with it."

"What do you have?" Felicity asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Before the meeting, Oliver and Felicity decided that it would be best if Vic only thought Felicity was an intermediary with the Arrow and not his partner in crime fighting. She saw Oliver shoot her a glance as a reminder of their arrangement.

"After disappearing a few months before the siege, the Bratva appear to be having a resurgence in Starling City." Vic held out a thumb drive that the Arrow then pocketed. "They've been worming themselves into many of the city's construction projects. Most of these projects have fallen behind schedule, are over budget or haven't even begun at all - but the money keeps getting paid out."

Felicity could see the line of Oliver's jaw tense. Since he made his deal with Oscar Orlov, the Bratva had been making use of Starling City's port. Oliver allowed some shipments to go through, but the Arrow made sure that any shipment of drugs or guns found their way into police custody. If Oscar had expanded his reach to city government building contracts, he was breaching their agreement and encroaching on Oliver's territory. If what Vic was saying was true, they could have an all out mafia war soon - with Oliver Queen at the center of it.

"I'll take care of it." Oliver said as he gestured for Felicity.

Ignoring Oliver, she asked Vic, "You'll let me know if you're going to Syria, right?"

Vic squeezed Felicity's hand. "I promise, I'll say goodbye before I leave."

"One more thing." Felicity reached into her pocket and withdrew a thumb drive. With a soft voice and a quick glance over to the Arrow, she handed Vic the drive. "You might find this information interesting. Defective building materials have made their way into the city and the Building Inspector's office appears to be turning a blind eye to it."

Vic cocked his head towards the Arrow. "You haven't shared this with your friend?"

Felicity stepped closer to him and lowered her voice. "No, Oliver and I ran into this issue with the construction of the new Applied Sciences building. We've kind of hit a dead end with it and I think it is more important for the people of the city to know that their buildings might be unsafe than having a Building Inspector receive a thump on the head from the Arrow."

Vic took the drive from her. "Alright, I'll take a look, but I suspect that this might have a lot to do with the info I just gave to your friend."

Oliver, standing on the ledge of the roof, cleared his throat and extended his hand to Felicity. Resigned to making a dramatic exit, instead of taking the sensible stairs, she allowed Oliver to pull her into his side. As soon as her arms were around his neck, he stepped off the roof. When they got home, Felicity was going to need to remind him that her zip-lining off the roof with him had never been part of the plan.

VVVVV

Later that night, Felicity sat in her pajamas reading through the documents Vic had provided to them. Oliver stood staring out the living room window, his tablet clenched in his hand. Even though he was dressed for bed, she could tell that he wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon. The tension he carried radiated off of him and was making her jumpy. Placing her tablet on the coffee table, she rose from the sofa. Her approach was reflected in the glass and he shifted to accommodate her presence. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. The steady thrumming of his heart, normally, relaxed her, but tonight it held no comfort because his body was tightly coiled for a fight. "Come to bed. We can think about this tomorrow."

Oliver placed a kiss on the top of her head. "You go ahead. I'll join you in a little while."

"You say that like I can't tell when you're lying." Felicity teased, trying to shake him from his brooding.

"Felicity, this is serious." Oliver said pulling away from her.

"Don't you think I know that?" She didn't even try to hide her hurt feelings. Most of the time Oliver treated her like a true partner with her opinion carrying equal weight. More often than not, he deferred to her because he trusted her judgment more than his own. But when Oliver decided to shut her out, even her loud voice struggled to break through.

"I have no choice. Oscar is challenging me and I must respond." He said dispassionately.

"Why not let the Arrow take out his operation? Oliver, you don't need to be involved."

Oliver smirked at her statement. Whenever he referred to himself as two distinct and separate personas she'd roll her eyes. "Oliver Queen needs to be the one responding."

"We've had this argument before. You're not Bratva, not here in Starling. Unless you have a secret mafia lair that I don't know about. If you do, I'd be impressed because I have no idea where you'd find the time to manage another secret identity. I'm actually amazed you didn't graduate from college, you have pretty good time management skills and you can function on little sleep."

"Felicity," he said sharply.

"You don't have a secret mafia lair that I don't know about, right? It's not like you haven't kept a secret lair before." She was teasing, but there was a slight edge to her tone. She still hadn't gotten over that he'd kept a secret Arrow lair from her. She didn't know what upset her more, that he had kept it from her or that she hadn't discovered it on her own. She'd believed Oliver's life was an open book. Sure his five years missing were a mystery, but once he returned to Starling, Felicity thought she knew everything - that he trusted her with everything.

Sighing he reached for her hands. "Felicity, I'm not keeping another secret lair from you, Bratva or otherwise."

"Then I know, you're not going to start a mob war over an insult to your Bratva Captain honor."

"Do you honestly think that this is about honor? If I don't respond, we will lose control of everything. If Oscar thinks I will let him get away with this, he'll keep testing the boundaries until he forces me out of the city . He'll come for me, Thea and you."

"So what are you going to do?" She asked, afraid of his answer.

"I don't know yet. If I don't handle this right, I could get all of us killed." A small pit formed in her stomach at the look on his face. He wasn't just worried, he was afraid.

"Call Anatoly. He promised Starling would remain Bratva free."

"Yes, but that's before I opened up the ports to Oscar. I let him in the door, I can't go complaining to Anatoly now."

"I hate this." Felicity said angrily as she stormed away to her bedroom. It was her fault Oscar had come into Oliver's life. He was now paying for her mother's sins. As she got into bed she cursed Oliver for revealing his Bratva identity to her step-father. Big Stevie would've paid her mom's debts and, regardless of what Oliver believed, he never would've asked her for anything in return.

"I thought the rule was to never go to bed angry." Oliver said leaning against the door frame.

Since August, Felicity had been waiting for Oscar to call in his favor. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead of Oscar demanding Oliver commit murder, he was now trying to actively take a territory away from a non-active Bratva Captain. The absurdity of the situation had made her tense. Oliver was going to have to fight a war for a territory he only pretended to run in order to protect her. "I'm not angry. I'm frustrated." Felicity said to her ceiling. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I know this isn't your fault but sometimes I feel like we're never going to be able to get out from everything that wants to squash us."

"Nothing is going to squash us." Oliver said sitting on the edge of the bed. "We're just tired. Let's go to sleep and we'll figure out something tomorrow."

"I'll cancel all the stuff for Thanksgiving in the morning." Felicity said as she began to run through all the tasks she'd need to complete to figure out the extent of Oscar's influence in Starling.

Oliver rolled onto the bed, nestled between her legs and rested his chin on her shoulder. "We're not cancelling Thanksgiving. We're taking time off and damn it, we're going to be thankful," he growled.

Felicity couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, we're not cancelling Thanksgiving and we're evidently celebrating our thankfulness with extreme prejudice." Felicity caught his pouting lips between hers and soon all thoughts of the Bratva and Oscar were banished from her mind.

VVVVV

If someone had told Felicity a year ago that Oliver Queen would be standing in her kitchen peeling fifteen pounds of potatoes the night before they hosted Thanksgiving, together, she would've told them they were insane. "I did live in Russia, you know." He said seemingly out of the blue.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" Felicity moved around him to grab a measuring cup from the cabinet. "Wait, what does potato peeling have to do with your time in Russia?"

"As part of my Bratva initiation I was in charge of the potato peeling for our homemade vodka." He dropped the last of the cubed potatoes into the pot and moved to the sink to replace the water.

Felicity froze and watched him. She could see the tips of his ears turning red and she gently swatted him with a dish towel. "Oliver Queen, it is nearly impossible to tell when you're joking." She returned to her pie filling. "Peeling potatoes for vodka, I can't believe I almost fell for that."

Oliver put his arms around her waist and kissed her industrial piercing. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. What do you want me to do next?"

"The only things left to do are to pull the table out from against the wall and to set the table. The table cloth and napkins are over there on the counter."

He kissed her ear again before he removed his hands from her waist. "That I can do."

Felicity finished assembling her pies as Oliver set the table. His cell rang as she placed the two pumpkin pies into the oven. She watched as he moved his conversation into the bedroom. She wiped her hands on the dish towel and stepped into her living room. Oliver wasn't one to keep secrets from her anymore. She worried that the Bratva was about to ruin their Thanksgiving. She inspected his work setting the table and was impressed by what a good job he did. All the fancy dinners and receptions had paid off. The silverware was set correctly and everyone had a napkin folded like a rose in the center of their plate. Oliver's hidden skills were often a delightful surprise.

When he returned to the living room he sank onto her sofa. "Everything okay? Was that Anatoly?"

"Anatoly?" He looked surprised. "No, my attorney."

"Ned?" She asked sitting down next to him. The family lawyer calling the day before Thanksgiving couldn't be good. "What's wrong?" The pallor of his skin had her worried.

A rueful smile spread across his face. "For once, nothing's wrong. We got the mansion back. The judge decided that our trusts included the mansion and its contents and can't be sought as damages by the victims of the quake in their civil lawsuits. We have full access to our trust funds again."

"Congratulations. You're officially a billionaire again." Felicity said teasingly.

Oliver stood up and moved to the window. "Yeah."

Felicity followed and put a hand on his back. "This is a good thing, right?"

He put an arm around her waist. "Of course it is."

The lines on his forehead had her worried. No one talked himself out of a victory faster than Oliver. "Your face hasn't seemed to have received the memo. What's wrong?"

Oliver sighed heavily and Felicity's heart clenched. "I never thought we'd get it all back. I expected the courts to seize everything for the victims of the Glades." He turned to face her and his eyes were moist. "Every penny should go to the people of the Glades."

"You and Thea had nothing to do with the Undertaking. If it weren't for you, a lot more people would've died. The sins of the parents shouldn't be placed on the heads of their children."

"I know Thea and I aren't responsible for the actions of our parents but we didn't earn this money, we inherited it. We don't deserve to keep it." Oliver's eyes had lost their focus and she knew that he was reliving the night of the Undertaking.

"Oh, Oliver." She wondered if he would ever be free of all the guilt he carried. "If anyone can do great things with billions of dollars, it's you. You and Thea can set up your own charitable foundation and direct your billions where ever you think it will do the most good. You can find your own way with this too."

He kissed her forehead. "You're right. This is a good thing and Thea and I can make it a great thing." She hugged him tightly. "I can already think of the first good thing I can do with the money."

She smiled at him. "Yeah, what's that?"

"I can keep a promise I made to you." He winked playfully.

She furrowed her brow. "What promise?"

"I promised you that the first thing I would buy when I got my money back was a new server for you."

Felicity laughed. "I was so drunk that night."

"But I wasn't, so the promise stands." He kissed the top of her head.

She rose up on her toes and planted a kiss squarely on his lips. "I've already got one all picked out."

He laughed and kissed her back. "I'm not surprised."

The next day her small apartment was full to bursting with company and Felicity couldn't be happier. The television was on as, Oliver, Dig, Roy, Ted, Lance, Laurel and Sara watched football, baby Sara slept in Felicity and Oliver's bedroom while Lyla, Nyssa and Felicity busied themselves in the kitchen. Walter and Thea were spending the morning volunteering at a shelter to help Thea assuage some of her Merlyn guilt and bond with her step-father. Felicity was basting the turkey and trying not to laugh as Nyssa read a recipe from Pinterest to Lyla and argued over whether or not Lyla was dicing or mincing. Her laughter was cut off by the raised voice of the Captain. "Are you a complete idiot?"

"Dad!" Laurel and Sara yelled at the same time.

Felicity stepped into the living room to see which of her guests could possibly have upset Lance. "What happened?" She asked as lightly as she could. Looking at the television she realized the target of his ire. "Captain, Oliver isn't an idiot." Oliver was an idiot, about a lot of things, but now that he was her boyfriend she felt obligated to defend him. She could call him an idiot, but no one else got to, except, maybe Dig.

"Oh, he's an idiot alright, but I was talking about you." Lance grabbed the remote and rewound the advertisement on the television. It was an ad for News 52, telling the viewers to stay tuned after the game to see whether or not Starling City's favorite playboy has settled down. There was a video of Oliver and Felicity from the day before. They were exiting the grocery store and Oliver had playfully picked Felicity up by the waist and spun her around. "You should know better." Lance looked around the room and spotted Ted. "Felicity, do you need ice?" Felicity looked at him with confusion. "You need ice. Ted, go to the store around the corner and buy Felicity some ice."

"Dad." Laurel seethed.

"Ted, son, we're about to have a family argument and its best if you go get that ice now." Lance said without taking his eyes off of Felicity who now had Oliver's arm draped protectively over her shoulder.

Ted shrugged, kissed Laurel and headed out the front door without a word.

Everyone was now standing in the living room and had started talking at once. Felicity realized that she finally had the big family Thanksgiving gathering she always wanted, right down to the deafening argument that no one seemed to know the reason for. "Enough," bellowed Quentin. Turning and pointing at Dig he said, "I expected this from them, but I thought your main purpose was to be the voice of reason and keep the two of them from doing something that would get them both killed."

"Captain Lance," Oliver said calmly. "Whatever you think I'm doing, you're wrong."

Lance shook his head and laughed. "Can we agree on one thing? I'm not an idiot."

"No one thinks you're an idiot." Felicity said sweetly. Oliver had moved to stand behind her and placed his hands on her shoulder. She couldn't decide if he was trying to reassure her or use her as a human shield.

"Neither are the criminal elements in this city." Lance said glumly as he gestured to everyone in the room. "I know what the lot of you get up to together at night. If I can figure it out, so can a criminal misanthrope with half a brain." He walked over to Oliver and Felicity. "Kid, the moment I arrested you for being the vigilante, I knew in my heart that I was right, I just couldn't prove it. Then the Arrow starts communicating to me through Oliver Queen's employee. Let's just say the picture started to get clearer. The last puzzle piece started to click into place when my Sara started showing up to crime scenes with the Arrow, after I just saw her with Oliver."

"Captain," Oliver started but words failed to come out even as his jaw opened and closed.

Lance grabbed Oliver's arm. "Relax kid. I've pretended not to know because it was easier not knowing."

Felicity laced her fingers through Oliver's in order to stop his nervous habit of rolling his fingers together. "Captain, we appreciate you not arresting us, but why are you getting upset after all this time?"

"Because now your relationship is out there for the public. After your kidnapping, the two of you became the darlings of the tabloids. They're watching your every move. You've been present for too many Arrow sightings, not to mention how many times he's rescued you. It won't be too hard a leap to make that the man who has saved your life dressed as the Arrow is the same man warming your bed at night."

Felicity was ready to throttle the Captain. It had taken too much work to get Oliver to the place where he was willing to put aside his fears for her safety so they could be an actual couple. Now that she had Oliver, she wasn't going to let anyone come between them. Before she could speak, Oliver did. "You think we should break up?"

Lance sighed and looked at Felicity. She silently begged him not to blow up her life. Oliver respected the Captain and if he told him that she was unsafe as his girlfriend she knew that she'd be boyfriendless by dinner. "No, but you need to be smart about this. The two of you need to start being boring. Stay away from the paparazzi. Steer clear of high profile events for awhile. The Arrow needs to stop being seen with our girl here." He took Felicity's hand. "No more fieldwork for you anymore. It isn't safe for you and it isn't safe for him."

Oliver looked at Felicity. "What do you think?"

Felicity realized that she had a roomful of their friends watching them and waiting for her response. Oliver's question had thrown her off. When it came to her safety, she never got an initial vote. Usually, he'd make a decision and then they'd fight about it until one of them saw reason. The thought of never getting to do fieldwork again was disappointing. She wasn't a fan of being bait for a serial killer, but she did enjoy the occasional breaking and entering. As she looked around the room at all the strong women in her life she could feel that familiar pang of insecurity. Why did they need her if she was the weak link that could bring them all down? She looked back at Oliver and her choice was made. If being with Oliver meant keeping a low profile as the Arrow's partner, she would do it. The press would eventually get bored of them and move onto someone else. "Okay."

"Okay?" Lance and Oliver asked together.

"That seemed too easy." Lance surveyed the room for confirmation.

The look that Roy and Dig gave one another had her narrowing her eyes at them. Roy began to squirm under her scrutiny. She returned her attention to Lance. "I'm more than happy to keep a low profile from the press. Oliver can take Thea to the next few galas. As for the field, I will stay out of the field as long as it can be avoided." She raised a hand to silence Oliver. "Let's face it, there are times when you need me on site to do my thing."

Lance resumed play on the television. "Great. I'm glad that's settled." Lance sat back down in front of the television. "This conversation never happened."

Everyone just stood in the living room staring at one another. It wasn't everyday that your secret identity got blown by the Captain of police. Felicity raised her eyebrows at Oliver and he shrugged at her.

"The recipe clearly calls for mincing," Nyssa stepped back into the kitchen with Lyla on her heels.

"I am mincing," Lyla said defensively.

"You are dicing and you're lack of precision doesn't surprise me considering A.R.G.U.S.' sloppy execution in the field." Nyssa picked up the knife. "This is minicing."

Dig shot Sara a look and she grinned. Oliver squeezed Felicity's hand and returned to the sofa to watch the game. Everyone seemed to relax and returned their attention to the game. Felicity returned to the kitchen to make sure the knives were only used on vegetables.

The front door opened and Ted poked his head in. Seeing that everyone had returned to watching the game, he entered Felicity's apartment with Thea and Walter on his heels. "Here's your ice."

Oliver stood and greeted Thea and Walter. He offered Walter a beer and exchanged a soda for the glass of wine Thea poured herself. Felicity took the bag of ice from Ted and turned in a circle. She had no idea what she was going to do with it. Her freezer was full. "Um, thank you. I'm sorry about that."

"No problem. I've got a family too." Ted grabbed a carrot off the counter and returned to the living room.

Felicity smiled. Even with all their arguments and secrets, she had people around her who accepted and cared about one another. She finally had a family of her own and she couldn't be any happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed.
> 
> Up Next: December: Oliver and Thea get the mansion back. Oliver surprises Felicity. Any guesses?


	3. December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving into the mansion, holiday surprises and the Oscar investigation continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your kind comments for the last chapter. Your kudos are also greatly appreciated.
> 
> Your opinions were unanimous - you like the long chapters, which is good, because this one is a long one.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

Oliver, Felicity and Thea stood in the foyer of the Queen mansion all lost to their separate thoughts and memories. Unfortunately, most of Felicity's memories were of unpleasant encounters with Moira and Mirakuru enhanced super soldiers. She ran her fingers across the mantle and inspected the thick layer of dust. "The first thing you're going to need to do is hire back the household staff. I love you, but I'm not helping you dust this entire house."

Thea laughed. "The first thing we need to do is turn the heat on. It's freezing in here."

"Speedy, it was always cold in here. It's a drafty old mansion."

"Okay, so the first thing we need to do is install new insulation and energy efficient windows." Thea said as she climbed the stairs. "I'm going to go check out my room. I think I left my favorite Louboutin's behind."

"She's right," Felicity said. "You really should make the house more energy efficient. You're working to make QC green, no reason you shouldn't do the same for the mansion. Maybe install some solar panels on the roof or the grounds. We could maybe get the PR department to tie in the refurbishing of the mansion with QC's new alternative energy technology announcement." She winked at him and spread her hands out in front of her like unfurling a banner. "Queen goes Green."

He gave her a sideways look. "Felicity. It's cloudy in Starling City three hundred days a year."

"Okay, forget the solar panels. You could install some wind turbines."

"Didn't you send me some articles on some possible health side effects due to living in proximity with wind turbines and why we need to invest in research to develop a safer turbine?"

"Have I ever told you how much it annoys me when you pay attention to something I say and then remember it later in order to counter one of my arguments?"

"I always pay attention to what you say." He grinned with satisfaction.

Her look told him that she doubted that statement to be true. "Okay, forget the turbines and solar panels but you should definitely do the insulation and the windows."

"I'll add it to the list." Oliver walked into the living room and pulled a sheet off one of the sofas.

"When do you think you'll be ready to move in? Maybe you can be in by Christmas. Thea might like to resume the tradition of the annual Christmas party." Felicity said excitedly as she removed sheets from the desk by the window. When she turned around, Oliver was standing in the center of the room, staring blankly ahead. His thumb was rubbing against his index finger. "Hey, what's going on?"

He shook his head, "I don't want to move back here."

"What?" She moved to stand in front of him and took his hands.

"I'm happy living at your place, with you."

"Yes, because it is better than living in the lair." She teased.

He looked hurt. "That's not why."

Felicity was confused. From the moment Isabel seized the company and the courts froze their assets, they'd been working to recover the family legacy. "You and Thea fought so hard to get this place back. Oliver, this is your home."

He shook his head. "No, you're my home. I don't want to live anywhere you're not."

Felicity's heart raced. These were all the things she'd hoped he'd say to her when the very thought of a relationship between them was unthinkable. Now that they were together, everything seemed to be moving at light speed. She worried that maybe they were going too fast as a way to compensate for what they'd denied themselves for so long. "You want me to move into the mansion with you and Thea?"

"Yes." When he saw the look of hesitation on her face he said, "Why not?"

Felicity turned to take in the formal living room. It was a very long way from the rundown apartments and double-wide trailers she'd spent her childhood in. "My whole apartment can fit inside your foyer."

He smiled softly at her. "That is a statement, not a reason."

When they returned from Vegas, Oliver brought her home and never really left. Every time they returned from the lair, more and more of his belongings came with him. She'd emptied out half her drawer space and a quarter of her closet for him, which was as big a commitment as she'd ever made for someone. When you loved clothes as much as she did, the sacrifice of any drawer and closet real estate was painful. "I know that we're living together now and it just kind of happened without either of us really discussing it, but moving in here with you seems like an awfully big step. Are we ready for this?"

He casually shrugged. "I don't see why not. This is going to be your house too, eventually. So, you might as well move in now."

Felicity's brain stopped all thought for five seconds. He just told her that the mansion would one day be hers. A girl needs a few seconds to process that kind of information. Leave it to Oliver to never do anything half way. Once he was in, he was in. She loved that he was decisive, however, his decisiveness also had a way of stressing her out. Her brain rebooted. "Wait. Are you proposing to me? Was that a proposal?"

Oliver's eyes went wide. "No," he spluttered. "Yes." Oliver gulped air like a fish out of water. "I mean, no it wasn't a proposal, but yes I meant that I'm going to marry you and this is going to be your home one day. Isn't that what we're working towards?" Felicity's legs kind of gave way beneath her and Oliver had to maneuver her into a chair before she collapsed completely. He knelt between her legs. "Are you okay? Have I just screwed everything up?"

She looked up into his eyes and ran her fingers along his scruff. "It's a good thing that wasn't a proposal, because as proposals go, it was a terrible one. A girl fantasizes about a guy proposing and it never consists of him saying, you might as well move in."

"You've fantasized about marrying me?" He teased.

"Easy there, Mr. Queen. I said I fantasized about a marriage proposal, but it was more of in the abstract than about you specifically. I think the first guy I fantasized about proposing to me was a Power Ranger." She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes went wide as she remembered her first crush. "Tom Oliver, the Green Ranger. Oh, I do have a type."

"So, you don't want to marry me? You want to marry a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger?" A smirk played across his lips.

 

"At this very moment, marriage isn't high on my list of things to do." When she saw the look of disappointment on his face she leaned in and kissed him. "I've already told you that you're it for me and I can't imagine a day where I don't get to wake up to you, but I don't think we need to be married for that to happen."

He smiled and kissed her. "Good, that's settled. You're moving in with me."

"Wait, have I just been bamboozled?" She began to gesticulate her hands back and forth between them. "Did you just fluster me with a non-proposal proposal in order to get me to move in with you?"

Oliver's eyes went wide. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh my God, you totally bamboozled me." She said as she playfully swatted his arm.

"What has my brother done now?" Thea asked with feigned exasperation. She held a pair of red soled heels in her hands.

"Felicity has agreed to move in with us." Oliver said triumphantly.

Thea smiled and hugged Felicity. "It will be nice to have another girl to live with." Turning to Oliver she said, "You do realize that the press is going to have a field day with this."

"We're already living together." Oliver said defensively.

"Not in the Queen mansion, you're not." Thea said smugly. "I think you'll want to speak with our PR folks before you feed poor Felicity to the wolves."

Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand. "It won't be so bad. What's the worse they can say? They're already speculating that I'm only dating you to murder you to get to your money."

"That's the spirit." Thea grinned. "Gold-digger strikes pay dirt."

Felicity laughed. "Scion sleeping with the enemy."

Thea fought back a giggle and in a serious voice said, "Blonde bimbo baits hook. Look out for baby bump."

Felicity placed a hand over her mouth to hide her smile from Oliver who was wincing like he had three broken ribs. "Enough, enough." He said with a grimace. "I'll call the PR group."

"Too bad it's winter. With all the coats and heavy sweaters the press is definitely going to go on baby bump watch." Thea winked at Felicity when Oliver groaned.

The thought of the press looking for any change in her waistline was not a pleasant one. She didn't really want speculation as to whether she was pregnant or just getting fat in the press. Felicity looked down at her stomach and pat it thoughtfully. "I guess no more Big Belly Burger for me."

VVVVV

"Arrow? Arrow?" Felicity called through the comms. The team had responded to an apartment fire in the Glades. The building had been engulfed in flames within minutes and according to the emergency services scanner the building had begun to collapse. The last she'd heard from Oliver he was heading into the building to pull out more residents. "Arsenal. Do you have eyes on him?"

A heavy wet cough sounded in her ears. "Negative, Blondie. I just came back out the front, we separated when we went in."

"Arrow. Please respond." She called again, trying to keep the hysteria from her voice. Just then the scanner erupted with frantic cries and she could hear through her comm connection as the building collapsed. She sprang up from her chair. "Oliver! Oliver!"

A burst of static sounded and then she heard a cough. "I'm here. I'm okay."

She could hear Roy speaking softly to Oliver. He was probably checking to see if he was okay to ride his bike. Roy coughed again. "We're on our way home."

Felicity sprang into action and pulled two oxygen canisters and masks from storage. She also went through her medical supplies pulling out burn creams and antibiotics. As she waited for her boys to return she continued listening to the scanner. It sounded like at least one firefighter was missing. The sound of the lair door opening had her moving to the stairs. "It's your night off. What are you doing here?" She asked John as he sprinted down the stairs.

"I was listening to the scanner. Are they alright?" Dig inspected the supplies she laid out on the med table.

"They're on their way back. I don't know in what condition." Dig squeezed her hand and began to set up the oxygen tanks.

They waited in silence as they watched the lair door from the bottom of the stairs. They both let out a breath when the door opened and Oliver and Roy hobbled down the stairs, leaning on one another. Dig reached for Oliver and put his arm around his waist. Oliver's arm draped around Dig's shoulder for support. Felicity and Roy performed the same routine and the four made it over to the med table. They affixed the oxygen masks to their patient's mouths and then began to inspect them for any burns or injuries. Felicity ran her hands over Roy's arms, chest and back, looking for any holes or burns in his uniform. Satisfied, she placed the oxygen mask on the table and then removed his jacket and pulled his t-shirt over his head. Once she secured the mask back to his face, she began to inspect his ribs because she'd noticed that he'd flinched when she put her arm around his waist. A good sized purple bruise was forming on his left side and she gently prodded it, checking to see if anything was broken. "They're not broken," he rasped through his mask.

"No, but they'll need to be taped." She said as she walked across the lair to the bathroom.

She turned on the warm water and filled a basin. As she returned to the med table, she allowed herself to take her first look at Oliver. Dig was speaking softly to him as he helped to remove Oliver's t-shirt. It appeared that Oliver had sustained a minor burn to his left shoulder. His skin was pink, but there was no sign of blistering. She returned to Roy's side and began to wipe his blackened face with a warm cloth. He muttered some half-hearted protests through the mask but didn't put up any resistance. "There's that jaw that stops girls in their tracks," she teased as she got the last of the soot from his face. "Once you're off the oxygen you should take a shower and then I'll tape your ribs." Once he nodded in agreement, she turned her attention to Oliver.

She rested her hands on his thighs and looked into his eyes. The thick black soot covering his face made his eyes even more striking. He pulled the oxygen mask from his face and wheezed, "I'm fine."

She placed the mask back on his face and turned her attention to Dig. He was placing ointment onto Oliver's shoulder. When she caught his eye, he smiled. Sighing in relief, she returned her focus back to Oliver, who raised his eyebrows. His way of saying, _See, I told you so_. She rolled her eyes at him and began to wipe his face with a clean cloth. When she finished, he lowered his mask and with a gravelly voice said, "What, my jaw doesn't stop girls in their tracks?"

She kissed his jaw and smiled sweetly. "You have a perfectly lovely jaw, but Roy could cut glass with his." Oliver hrmphed as Roy and Diggle burst out laughing. Roy began to choke and Dig had to pat him vigorously on the back. Felicity leaned into Oliver and whispered into his ear. "Your abs would stop traffic, but luckily, I'm the only girl who gets to see them." She stepped away, smirking when she heard his low growl. She returned to listening to the scanner and lowered her head in relief when all firefighters were accounted for. Maybe they'd get lucky and no one died in the blaze that was still raging.

Oliver lifted his mask. "I need you to figure out who the contractor was on that building and if our corrupt Building Inspector signed off on the occupancy permit. I also want to see the Fire Inspector's report. I want to know why that building burned the way it did."

"You think this is one of Oscar's buildings?" Diggle asked.

"I don't know, but if it is, we will be planning a trip to Vegas." Oliver began to cough.

"I'll get right on it." Lifting the mask back over his mouth, she said. "When Roy is done in the shower, you need to take one. You smell like barbecue and I haven't had dinner yet."

VVVVV

Felicity sat staring at her monitor. She had hours of work for Applied Sciences waiting for her, but she couldn't stop looking at the research she'd done on the building fire. Nine people had died, including five children. She closed the window displaying the faces of the smiling children. Their faces had been haunting her dreams and she was pretty sure they would continue to do so even after they caught whoever was responsible for their deaths. Even though she was in her QC office, she was connected to her new server in the lair. True to his word, Oliver had given her a blank check on selecting equipment for her night job. Her new server was fast as lightening and to be honest, she might've fallen in love with it. The best part, she no longer had to worry that anyone would trace any of her Arrow research back to QC. She'd made that mistake before and she wouldn't make it again. She was trying to decide where all the faulty building materials were coming from, who was using them and most importantly, was Oscar involved? The research Vic had provided had been helpful. He'd identified several contractors who all had ties to the Bratva, but not necessarily Oscar. She'd also hacked into Chief Building Inspector Roger Alsop's email and was also tracing his bank accounts. She knew that Tommy had paid a bribe to Alsop to get Verdant opened without an inspection of their secret basement hideout. The guy was dirty, so it was only a matter of time before the money told her everything she needed to know. So far, the trail had led to several off-shore bank accounts, but that had never stopped her before, it only slowed her down.

What was most concerning was the proliferation of the faulty materials. It appeared that not all of the contractors building with counterfeit materials knew it. With all the building activity in the city, Starling was now the most expensive place in the country for building supplies. Contractors were paying top dollar for their materials and in exchange, they were getting deliveries that were five to ten percent counterfeited. Well, that was Felicity's highly educated guess based on facts. The contractors wouldn't necessarily know there was anything wrong until after the building was completed and underwent some type of structural stress like an earthquake or a fire. They'd lucked out with the construction of Applied Sciences. By chance, a section of the building had a greater amount of counterfeit steel beams and when a story was added on top of it, the beams began to buckle.

Fires in new construction were also on the rise in the city. So far, the Chief Arson Investigator, David McLaren, had attributed them all to space heaters, which, at first look, wasn't all that suspicious in the winter. However, when Felicity had met Laurel for lunch the day before, she was told about the courthouse scuttlebutt. It seemed that the majority of Starling City's public servants thought that there was something suspicious about the fires that had claimed twelve lives in addition to the nine that died in the fire Oliver and Roy responded to. As soon her lunch with Laurel was over, Felicity raced back to the office to peak at McLaren's reports. No sign of an accelerant was found at any of the scenes, nor were there any comments about flammable drywall, poorly insulated wiring or faulty steel beams. Felicity suspected that McLaren was probably on the take and so she set up a trace on his bank account. She didn't want to share any of this with Oliver until she was absolutely certain. Everything with Oscar was way too volatile for her to make any suppositions.

"Thea said you missed your appointment with the decorator." Oliver strode into her office carrying a paper bag. "Peggy said you didn't eat your lunch."

Felicity looked up and glanced at her assistant through their shared glass wall. She needed to remind Peggy that her responsibilities didn't include tattling on her to Oliver about whether she ate or how much caffeine she consumed in any given day. Peggy smiled at her as she shrugged her shoulders. She reached out her hand to take the bag from Oliver. "Fine."

"Don't be mad at Peggy. Technically, I outrank you and she kind of has to answer to me." Oliver took her hand and led her into the conference room.

"I don't like you spying on me." Felicity huffily placed her salad onto the table.

Oliver arched a brow at her. "If I were to ask Mrs. Worth," his third assistant since he returned as CEO, "how many times a day you ask her, if I've eaten, if I'm pacing, if I'm wearing my grumpy face, what would she tell me?"

She looked at him coolly. "That's completely different."

"How?"

"Because, I'm the one asking." She couldn't help smiling when she saw him grin. She wasn't really angry with him. She liked the idea that he wanted to look after her. "Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but not being able to just look up and see you through the wall," she shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I got used to knowing your moods and anticipating your needs. Wow, that sounded way dirtier than I meant, especially considering that I didn't take care of those needs when I was your assistant." Oliver laughed. "What I meant to say was that by just glancing through the glass I knew what was going on with you and I was able to manage you before you went off the rails."

"Manage me?" Oliver stole a cucumber out of her salad. "I didn't realize you were managing me." The glint in his eyes, told her he knew exactly what she'd been up to.

Now she was the one cocking her eyebrow. "You're kidding me, right? That's pretty much the number one job responsibility for anyone working for you." She was teasing him, but Oliver really was high maintenance at both his jobs. "If you get too grumpy during the day, you're an absolute bear at night and I have to listen to you be all, grrr. Just consider Mrs. Worth as our new early grumpy Oliver Queen warning system."

"Well, I'm still asking Peggy to spy on you." He took another cucumber. "Just consider it a boyfriend's prerogative."

"Did you eat?" She took a bite of her salad and really wished she hadn't given up carbs because of her baby bump look out paranoia. "I didn't get a chance to ask Mrs. Worth."

"Sushi with Walter." Felicity pouted her lips as she took another bite of her disappointing salad. "I would've brought you something, but you were supposed to be out to lunch with Thea and the decorator."

Felicity sighed. Ever since she agreed to move into the mansion things had been hectic and she hadn't had time to plan the logistics of a move. Oliver had asked her to pick out a bedroom for them. His only conditions were not to choose his old bedroom or his parents'. She appreciated that he wanted to make her comfortable and didn't want either of them to be haunted by girlfriends past or the dysfunction of his parents' marriage. She picked a room that got morning sun and a view of the garden. In the summer, they'd be able to sleep with the windows open and listen to the fountain. If the room also happened to have the biggest walk-in closet in the whole mansion, it was merely a coincidence. The only problem was the room currently looked like it was decorated by an exploding Louis XVI. Oliver complained that he felt like an eighty year old woman every time he walked into the room. It wasn't that Felicity didn't want to decorate the room for them, it was just overwhelming with everything else she had going on. "I'm sorry, I just got busy. I told them I'd reschedule."

"Thea and the decorator will be at the apartment at seven. Thea thinks it will help for the decorator to see your style in person. The new windows will be installed in our room by the end of the week. We're running out of time if we want to be in before the end of the year."

"Oliver. Why would you do that? I can't meet with them tonight. I have to finish my presentation for the board, not to mention the research you asked me to do." Felicity pushed her lunch away as the thought of her to do list robbed her of her appetite.

Oliver reached over and took her hands in his. "Hey. What's going on?"

She withdrew her hands and pulled her salad back. "Nothing."

"And don't say nothing." He spun her chair to face him. "We don't need to move into the mansion if you don't want to. I'm sorry if I got carried away."

Felicity could only imagine what the myriad of women who fantasized about being Oliver Queen's girlfriend would think of her if they knew she was apprehensive to move into his mansion. "It's a bit overwhelming. Thea wants me to interview maids this weekend. I don't even know where to begin when interviewing a maid. She also wants me to help her pick out the dinner service since Slade's goons destroyed the old one. Oliver, I didn't know what a dinner service was. I had to Google it." She took a deep breath. "I don't know how to do this and one day you're going to realize that I'm just some girl from the wrong side of the tracks."

Oliver flexed his jaw and she realized that instead of making him understand, she'd only succeeded in making him angry. "I don't let anyone talk that way about you. What makes you think that I'd tolerate it just because you said it? You're talking about the woman I love and she isn't just _some girl_."

"Oliver, I

"No. If you're not comfortable moving into the mansion, we'll stay put. I don't care where I live as long as I'm with you. But, if you don't want to move in because you don't think you're good enough, I won't accept that. That's your mother talking."

She smiled at him. He was always defending her, even from herself. "I won't do that to you. It's your home and it's important to you and it's important to Thea that you live under the same roof."

"I don't want you to be miserable because you want to make me happy. If you're miserable, I'm miserable."

"I know I'm being ridiculous, but I feel like I'm the emperor without any clothes. Put me in front of the board to talk about technology and I won't even blink, but ask me to throw them a dinner party and there is a good chance I'll faint from an anxiety attack."

Oliver's voice went soft and he traced patterns on her hand. "Felicity, I just want you to move in with me. I honestly didn't even think about the other stuff or how you'd feel about it. I'll ask Thea to do everything on her own. We thought that since the maids will be in and out of our room you'd like to pick someone you're comfortable with. But, you don't need to be involved. Thea will know to hire someone discreet."

She squeezed his hand. "I guess I should start watching Downton Abbey for research instead of entertainment."

Oliver visibly relaxed. "It's going to be fine, I promise. You just need to tell me when it gets to be too much and we'll face it together. All of this will get easier. Besides, Thea said the decorator had some impressive sketches for your new closet."

She laughed. "No fair. The way to a girl's heart is through her custom designed closet." He looked over his shoulder to make sure they were alone and gave her a quick kiss. "Okay, I'll meet with the decorator tonight, but the Robin Hood poster is coming, no matter what."

He grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

VVVVV

Moving day had finally arrived and through the magic of being a billionaire, their bedroom, bathroom and closet had all been redone in less than three weeks. A small army had been employed to make sure everything was ready for them to move in by Christmas. Oliver entered their new bedroom and placed the box he was holding where she pointed. If she wasn't so angry with him, she'd be admiring how his t-shirt stretched across his shoulders or how good he looked in his jeans when he put the box down. "I don't know why you won't tell me where you're going."

"It's a surprise." Oliver tapped the tip of her nose playfully.

"I don't like it when you keep things from me." She leaned against their new dresser. "Tomorrow is Christmas Eve."

"Okay, three things. First, I'm not keeping anything from you. It's a surprise and you'll find out what it is soon. Second, I'm only going for one night. Third, you don't get to play the Christmas Eve card." He winked at her.

Technically, he was right. Christmas Eve was just another day on the calendar for her that usually involved Chinese food and empty movie theaters. However, now that she was his girlfriend, Christmas Eve was a day and night full of obligations. "I do when you're hosting a QC cocktail party."

"I'll be back in plenty of time." Oliver was grinning and clearly enjoying that his surprise already had her worked up.

She snorted. "Hmph. You say that like you never paid me a salary to come up with excuses for you when you were running late."

"I'm pretty sure I've had to come up with an excuse or two for you too." Dig said as he entered the room carrying two boxes.

"Not helping." Oliver gave Dig his, _please don't gang up on me, man, she's already super angry with me_ , face.

Felicity took the top box from Dig and placed it in their new en suite bathroom. She eyed the large soaking tub and couldn't wait to dig out her bubble bath and try it out. "Do you know where he's going?" She asked as she poked her head into the bedroom.

"I do." Dig said with a smirk. "It's a surprise."

She came back into the room with her arms folded across her chest. "Now you're both keeping secrets from me. You do remember the rule that you're both supposed to like me better than you do each other?"

Oliver rubbed his hands on her arms and pulled her hands away from her chest. "I promise. I'm not doing anything connected with the Bratva."

Felicity's eyes darted to Dig. "Do you think I'd seriously let him face the Bratva alone?" He asked defensively.

She tried to take comfort in what Dig said, but Oliver had a way of leaving both of them out of the loop if he was going to do something dangerous and self-sacrificing. "No, but I think he'd tell both of us he was buying me a surprise pony when he was really after Oscar."

Dig smirked. "On that note, I'm going to head out." Turning to Oliver he said, "Have a good trip." He squeezed Felicity's shoulder. "Lyla and I will see you tonight for dinner."

They both watched as Dig left the room and closed the door behind him. "It's not a pony."

"What?" Felicity said as she refocused her attention on him. Thoughts of him confronting Oscar about the counterfeit building materials was almost all she could think about.

"The surprise isn't a pony and you can stop fishing because I'm not telling you."

"Oliver."

He sat down on the foot of the bed and held his hand out to her. She tapped her foot before she relented and joined him. "Felicity. I promise, I'm not leaving town to see Oscar. I'm honestly trying to do something nice for you."

She knew he was telling the truth, but her research had taken her down a rabbit hole and the more she uncovered the unhappier she became. All signs were pointing to Bratva but she hadn't found a direct tie to Oscar, but she thought she was getting close. The scope of the municipal corruption was worse than she'd feared, but she still hadn't shared her findings with Oliver. She wanted to get through the holidays before she sent the man she loved to war. There was no way around it. Oliver needed to eliminate Oscar's grip on Starling City before it got any tighter. "Okay."

Oliver smoothed the crease in her brow. "You don't look okay."

She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "I'm just going to miss you. We haven't spent a night a part since my mom's funeral."

He kissed her slowly. "I still have some time before I have to leave and we have this brand new bed."

"Mmm." Oliver pressed a line of kisses down her throat. "I guess it would be a shame not to test it out." She said breathily.

"I love it when we're on the same page." He said kicking off his shoes as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

Felicity giggled and pushed him onto his back, straddling his legs. She gave him a quick kiss. "You know you don't need to get me anything extravagant, right?"

He laughed and flipped them so she was on her back. He punctuated each word with a kiss. "I'm - not - falling - into - that - boyfriend - trap."

She pushed on his chest until he looked at her. "I'm serious. All of this," she dropped her arms to spread across the bed, "is more than enough." Her new bedroom suite was more than she could ask for.

"Felicity, I know I don't need to, but I want to." He kissed her.

"In that case," she captured his bottom lip between her teeth and sucked on it before she released him, "can we talk about a pony for my birthday?"

"If it's you asking, I can't say no." Oliver took possession of her bottom lip between his own.

As her brain began to short circuit from what Oliver was doing with his clever mouth and hands, she made a mental note to tell him that she DID NOT want a pony before she ended up with one. "Oh, I'd really like to test the tub before you go too."

VVVVV

The QC party had been a success and Oliver had used his charm to score some new investors. Even with all their work responsibilities they'd managed to have some fun and enjoy each other's company. It had been a long night and they were both eager to get some sleep. Oliver removed Felicity's silver cape and handed it to the maid. His bow tie was loose around his neck and his top two buttons were undone. Felicity grabbed hold of his forearm as she removed her six inch silver heels. "I can't feel my toes anymore."

Oliver winced when he looked at her bright red toes. "I don't know why you insist on wearing them."

Because they're pretty and they make my legs pretty." Felicity shuffled towards the stairs, too exhausted to lift her feet.

Oliver took her hand and spun her around to face him. "You look pretty with or without shoes." He started to lead her towards the living room.

She tugged on his hand. "Oliver let's go to bed. I'm so tired." She suspected that he was even more tired than her due to his whirlwind trip and he wouldn't go to bed unless she did.

"In a minute. I want to give you your present." He looked like the cat who swallowed the canary.

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. "I'm no expert, but I thought Christmas presents were opened on Christmas."

"This one won't keep until morning." He laced his fingers through hers. He opened the living room door and gestured for her to go through.

Sitting on the sofa with their head bowed in laughter were Thea and Roy who were seated on either side of a blonde woman. Roy was practically doubled over he was laughing so hard. Everyone turned at the sound of the door closing. "Aunt Rosie?" Felicity dropped her shoes and clutch as she moved around the sofa. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello sweetheart." Rosie pulled Felicity into an embrace. "Oliver thought that the best present for a Jew on Christmas would be another Jew."

Felicity burst out laughing. "I knew it was a mistake introducing you two."

Rosie squeezed Roy's cheek. "Felicity, you never told me that Starling was full of such handsome men. A man named John picked us up at the airport. I swear, he had arms the size of cannon balls." Rosie brought her hands up to illustrate how big she thought John's arms were. Felicity laughed when both Oliver and Roy rolled their eyes. Dig's arms and their size were a sore point on the team for the two men whose arms were not the size of cannon balls.

"Were you surprised?" Thea asked. "Ollie's been agonizing over keeping this secret."

Roy laughed. "I think Thea has been the one agonizing over keeping this secret."

Felicity kept her aunt close with an arm around her waist. "You all knew about this?"

Rosie wiped a few tears from Felicity's cheeks. "Don't cry, you'll make me cry and it isn't easy for me to look this good this late at night."

Felicity started laughing again. "They're happy tears. I'm so happy you're here." She pulled her aunt into another hug.

"I think you should thank Oliver, it was all his idea." Rosie said grinning at her co-conspirator.

Felicity threw her arms around Oliver's neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. This is the best present ever. Even better than the server."

"Please, someone write down the date and time. Felicity says I rank higher than a server." Rosie teased.

Oliver tightened his embrace and a laugh rumbled through his chest. "You're welcome. I'm glad it made you happy."

"Who wants a drink?" The asked.

"I'd love another cup of tea, dear." Rosie reached for her mug on the coffee table.

Felicity's eyes tracked her movement and then opened wide in horror. Sitting on the coffee table was a pink photo album filled with her most embarrassing childhood moments. It was bad enough Oliver had seen the album when they visited Rosie in Vegas, she didn't need Roy having any ammunition against her. With a gasp, she lunged for the album, but not before Roy and his Oliver honed reflexes snatched it from the table. "I can't believe you brought that here."

"Oh, I insisted." Oliver had a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Blondie, I have to say, you totally rocked the nose ring. I think you should start wearing it again." Roy and Thea started laughing. Thea left the room with Rosie's mug, dodging throw pillows launched by Felicity.

Felicity began to chase Roy around the coffee table. "Roy Harper. Hand me that album or so help me, I will end you."

"Oh, Felicity, show some Christmas spirit." Rosie returned to her place on the sofa. "I was telling Roy and Thea that maybe tomorrow we could watch your first grade ballet recital."

Felicity groaned at the memory of that recital. She'd worn a bright pink tutu and her hair was a frizzy brown halo as her curls fought against the confines of a bun. Felicity had protested the performance by sitting on the stage with her arms folded across her chest, glaring at her aunt in the front row. At one point she had laid down and her feet started moving side to side as she made elaborate arm gestures. The audience spent the whole performance in hysterics. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"I promised Oliver when you visited over the summer. Plus, it's my all time favorite performance of yours." Rosie held out her hands to Roy who returned the album to her with a sweeping bow.

"You're supposed to be on my side." Felicity reminded Oliver.

"Always, except when it comes to dance recital videos. I'm sorry, but I'm watching every video she brought with her and then I'm making copies." He kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear. "How many times did I catch you watching the old video of the model slapping me?"

Thea returned with tea for Rosie. "Come on Harper, time for bed."

Oliver glared at Roy who quickly lost the smile from his face. "I think I liked it better when the two of you snuck around behind my back."

"Please big brother," Thea winked at Felicity, "I don't see a ring on her finger."

"Thea." Oliver and Felicity shouted together. Thea and Roy left hand in hand as Thea plastered a wet sloppy kiss on Roy.

Oliver scrunched up his nose which would have made her laugh if she wasn't too busy turning six shades of red in front of her aunt. "Aunt Rosie, I know I didn't tell you that Oliver and I are living together now, but - surprise."

"Child, if you weren't taking full advantage of that delicious man, I'd think there's something wrong with you. I can't believe you let him out of your bed to come get me." Rosie sipped her tea knowingly.

"Aunt Rosie," Felicity admonished. She wasn't sure who was blushing more, her or Oliver.

"Felicity, I might be older but I'm not dead. I've had sex and plenty of it." Rosie had spent more than twenty years as a Vegas showgirl and almost another thirty as a choreographer, so there wasn't much that made her blush, but she had plenty of ammunition to tease Felicity with and got no end of enjoyment in making the young blonde turn red.

"Oh God, this isn't happening." Felicity dropped onto the sofa, her head in her hands.

"Really, I don't know why you're such a prude about these things. You're young and beautiful. You should be enjoying yourself."

"I'm not a prude. I'd just rather not talk about my sex life with my aunt in front of my boyfriend."

"Oh good, you do have a sex life." Her aunt teased. "Why wouldn't you want to talk about it in front of him? He is the one you're having sex with, right?"

Oliver joined them on the sofa and took one of Felicity's hands. "I think you should stop teasing her before she blushes to death."

"What should I tell her first? That we're madly in love and running away together or give her our other surprise?"

"Another surprise?" Felicity eyed the two of them and decided they looked entirely too pleased with themselves. "Please, go run away together. You deserve each other."

"I've moved to Starling City." Her aunt stated with a glint in her eye.

"What?" Felicity was shocked. "You're going to leave Vegas?"

"Leaving? No, honey, I left. The movers came for my stuff yesterday. Oliver treated me to a lovely night on the town and put me up at the Bellagio and then he flew me here on a private jet. It's been quite the adventure."

Felicity was stunned. She'd been trying to get her aunt to move to Starling from almost the moment she moved to town. Her aunt steadfastly refused stating that she wouldn't leave her husband and daughter. Her aunt visited their graves weekly. "When did all this happen?"

"After your visit, I told Oliver I wanted to move closer to you. After what happened with your mother, I realized how close I'd come to losing you. You're my only family and I'd like to see you more often."

"Are you moving in here?" Felicity was still trying to process the news.

"I love you, darling, but living with you would seriously cramp my style." Rosie winked at Oliver.

"Where?" Felicity stammered.

"Your place." Oliver volunteered. "You were planning on selling it, so we figured"

"Two birds, one stone." Rosie finished.

Felicity hugged her aunt. "I'm so happy you're here. I've missed you so much." Felicity began to cry. Rosie rubbed soothing circles onto Felicity's back with one hand and reached for Oliver's hand with her other. Oliver smiled warmly and squeezed the woman's hand. "But, we're not watching those videos."

Rosie lifted Felicity's chin. "Okay, I won't let anyone see the videos unless you say so."

Less than an hour later, Oliver was rubbing circles across her bare back. "You're really okay with all of this? I know it was a lot to do without asking you first."

She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. "I feel guilty that I gave you such a hard time yesterday."

Oliver grinned. "I'll put that in the bank for the next time I do something to upset you."

"You know, you could just actually stop doing the things that upset me, like being late and jumping off or roofs and getting injured."

"Now, where would the fun be in that?"

"Hmm," she rested her ear over his heart. "That explains so much." Where she was filled with abject terror as they zip lined between buildings, he was having fun. Oliver saw being the Arrow as a responsibility, but he wouldn't do it unless he also enjoyed it.

"Neither would you." He kissed the top of her head.

"What?" She asked through a yawn.

"You wouldn't spend your nights with me if you didn't enjoy it too." He said softly.

She chuckled at his unintentional innuendo. He was right, of course. She did love how they spent their nights together, fighting side by side to keep Starling safe. She bit her lip as she thought about how they privately celebrated Christmas Eve. "I enjoyed it quite a bit."

"Miss Smoak, get your mind out of the gutter. I was referring to our platonic night time activities."

"I guess I enjoy that too, but I think I enjoy our non-platonic activities more, Mr. Queen."

He tightened his embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Me too."

VVVVV

Felicity blew onto her fingers in an attempt to regain some feeling. She was huddled in the back of the van waiting for Dig to come get her for a lovely stroll in the sewer. Technically, it wasn't the sewer but a tunnel that contained power lines and fiber-optic cables. She was insisting on calling it a sewer because she was protesting that it was New Year's Eve and instead of spending it in a sparkly gown with her tuxedo clad boyfriend, she was being led into the bowels of the earth to do a job that could so wait for another night. She jumped a little when Dig opened the back door and held his hand out to her. She silently slid her hand into his and followed him out of the alley the van was parked in. A man hole cover was open and had a little fence around it with flashing orange lights. Diggle handed her a hard hat and she glared at him. It had taken her over an hour to get the curls in her hair just right and she had no intention of ruining it with hard hat hair. She and Oliver were going to be kissing at midnight at the QC sponsored gala if she had to drag his ass there clad in leather. This was their first New Year's Eve as a couple and she wasn't ringing in the new year without him. Dig took the hat from her and plopped it onto her head and tapped the top of it for good measure. Just for that, she was going to be ordering vegetarian meals for the whole month of January. He'll learn to think twice about messing up her hair after thirty days of beluga lentils.

Felicity followed Dig down the ladder and removed her tablet from her bag once they'd reached the bottom. She studied her screen for a moment and then gestured for Dig to raise his flashlight down the tunnel. She turned her comm on. "Arrow, are you in position?"

"Affirmative." Oliver's voice was distorted.

To Dig she said, "Wait here, there won't be room for both of us." Dig looked anxious as he scanned the darkened tunnel. "It's just thirty feet away. These tunnels weren't made for 6'4" vigilantes. I should've brought Arsenal."

"Hey." Roy groused in her ear. "I resemble that remark."

"Standby." Felicity edged her way down the narrow corridor. Her flashlight sweeping back and forth as she read the numbers along the ceiling as she looked for the location marker of their target. She was about to cut the power to a block of high rise office buildings at the center of downtown. Her New Year's celebration was being cut short because with the holiday, the buildings should all be vacant with skeletal security crews, which would make their jobs easier. Their target was the Starling based national construction firm, Ketchel. Felicity had her suspicions that someone high up in the firm was dirty and was working with Oscar to distribute the counterfeit building materials. Oliver and Roy were waiting on the rooftop of a neighboring building until Felicity cut the power. Once the power was cut, they would have fifteen minutes to access the executive floor and plant taps on phones, bugs in conference rooms and a remote access port in the server room. It would take at least twenty minutes for the first repair crews to respond from the power company. They wanted to be well clear of the location when anyone showed up. While Oliver and Roy were planting all of her toys, Felicity would be hacking into their back-up generator to prevent both the security system from working and to force the company's servers to go down, which would cause their IT team to reboot the system and give her the best way to get her foot in the door, so to speak. It was amazing how many companies protected the computer systems that contained confidential corporate information, but had zero protection around the computer systems that ran their elevators, heating, ventilation and cooling systems. She was already inside Ketchel's heating system, she just needed to wait for the second before she cut the power to jump to the generator's system. She found the series of numbers she was looking for and double checked her tablet to make sure that she had the right numbers. She confirmed that the executive elevator was still in the basement and that it's shaft would be able to provide Oliver and Roy their escape route. She attached a series of cables from her tablet to the power grid in front of her and started the clock. "In five - four - three - two - one."

"Power's out." Oliver said. She could hear the sound of the zip line being deployed and the rush of wind as he flew between the buildings."

"Fourteen minutes thirty eight seconds." Felicity said when she heard Oliver's feet skitter across the asphalt of the rooftop.

"We're in." Roy spoke softly and she could hear the soft footfall of their leather boots against concrete stairs.

Felicity monitored her program to make sure the generator did not engage. "Thirteen minutes."

"I'm in the server room." Oliver reported. Felicity held her breath as she listened to Oliver's feet echo in the eerily quiet room. She really should be the one deploying the tech, but they'd promised Lance no more risky field work and Oliver said he could follow her instructions enough to plug something in. "Got it. Patch deployed. Meeting up with Arsenal."

"Eleven minutes." Her fingers itched as she watched the clock count down.

"Songbirds deployed in location one. Moving onto location two." Roy's voice was no more than a whisper in her ear.

"Nine minutes."

"Songbirds deployed in location three. Moving onto location four." Oliver whispered. His voice modulator turned off.

"Seven minutes. You need to be to the elevator shaft in no more than three minutes."

"Roger that." Roy said. "Location two completed, moving onto location five."

"Four completed. Moving onto number six." Felicity could hear Oliver running down a corridor. His footfall echoed and she could picture a marble hallway, not unlike QC.

Felicity muted her comm and called down the tunnel to Dig. "Okay to start cleaning up. They're two minutes from egress and four from rendezvous." Dig was going to bring the van around and park it practically on top of the manhole.

"See you topside." Dig said. Felicity could hear him climbing the ladder.

"Damn it." Roy muttered. "The device for over the conference table isn't working."

"It was working at home."

"I know that Blondie, I was there, but it isn't working now."

"I have the extra. I'm on my way," Oliver said. "Six complete."

"Show off." Roy complained.

"Five minutes. You're almost out of time." Felicity anxiously watched the clock.

"You sound worried. I can make a lot happen in a short amount of time." Oliver teased.

"I so didn't need to know that." Felicity could practically see Roy's eyes roll. She heard Oliver enter the conference room and an economy of words as they deployed the last bug.

"I'm at the van. On my way." Dig reported.

"All set." Roy said.

"Four minutes." Felicity said tightly. "You're out of time."

"South elevator. We're there." Felicity could hear the sound of the elevator doors opening. "Arsenal's going first." She heard the sound of a rappelling arrow deploying. "What color is your dress?"

"What?" Felicity asked.

"What color is your dress?"

"Are you trying to distract me?"

"You sound anxious."

"Three minutes."

"Arsenal's reached the garage. My turn. We'll be radio silent until we're back on the street. I hope you brought your dancing shoes." The sound of the elevator doors closing introduced static as the comm lost its signal.

Felicity rearranged herself so it would be easy for her to slip her tablet into her bag and head back out of the tunnel. Her counter fell just under sixty seconds when her head whipped towards the ladder. She could hear the sound of metal dragging across asphalt. "Dig? Is that you?"

Dig's voice answered immediately through the comm in her ear. "Felicity, I'm getting,"

Before he could finish, the manhole cover was pushed back into place and cut off her communication. "Dig." She cried. The tunnel hadn't gotten any darker than it was the moment before, but she suddenly felt like the walls were closing in around her and she couldn't breathe. Her tablet became blurry and she had trouble focusing on what she was supposed to be doing. A beeping noise cut through the sound of the blood rushing in her ears and she remembered she needed to turn the power back on. The reminder of her task forced her panic away and she was able to think again. As the clock reached zero, she disconnected her tablet from the grid. She looked up, half expecting to see the block of buildings illuminate. She walked the length of the tunnel and returned to the ladder. She stood directly beneath the manhole cover and wondered what had gone wrong that Dig had been forced to close her in. Someone must've been coming and he was forced to improvise. She just needed to be patient. It wasn't like he'd forget where he left her. She leaned against the ladder and wished she'd thought to pack a snack. She hadn't had dinner because she was looking forward to the finger food at the gala. The dinners at these things were always terrible, but the appetizers were always fantastic. One of the benefits of dating Oliver was that all of the QC events were always nut free. She never had to worry about putting nuts into her mouth at these things. _Gagh, even alone in my own mind I think of the worst ways to say things. At least Oliver wasn't here to hear that._ She pulled out her tablet to check the time. They should be picking up Oliver and Roy at the rendezvous now. Maybe Dig went for them first. It wasn't like she was going anywhere. She didn't envy Dig having to tell Oliver that he'd sealed her in a tunnel. She immediately wished she hadn't thought about being sealed in a tunnel. She suddenly couldn't get enough air into her lungs. She bent over at the waist in an attempt to get control of herself. She reminded herself the tunnel wasn't vacuum sealed and the manhole cover had three holes, so some air was coming in. The sound of groaning metal had her looking up. A sliver of light cut through the darkness. "Thank god, Dig?" She had already begun to climb the ladder.

"Felicity. Quickly." A voice shouted down.

She paused with one foot and hand off the ladder's rungs. "Dig? Is that you?"

"No. I'm a friend."

She stood with one foot and hand on the ladder as she debated what she should do. She couldn't just go back into the tunnel and hide, but anyone could be waiting up there for her. One of the Arrow's enemies could've seen his chance to exact revenge through her. If it was one of the Arrow's enemies, that meant Dig could be hurt or worse. She pulled the heavy flashlight from her bag and resumed her climb awkwardly. As she reached the top of the ladder a leather hand encircled hers and pulled her free from the hole. She pulled her hand with the flashlight back and was about to swing it, when the man holding her other hand turned. It was the man without the face and her surprise kept her from bringing the flashlight down onto his head. "I'm not going to hurt you, Felicity." His voice was gravelly and was clearly being put through some type of modulator.

Felicity dropped her hand with the flashlight to her side. Those words had been spoken to her before. Of course, when Oliver had said them, he'd had a mouth and lips. "How do you know my name?"

"We've got to move." He tugged her behind him as he broke into a run. She resisted for a second before she heard police sirens approaching. He slowed to a walk and lowered his hat on his brow and put a casual arm around her shoulder, tucking her into his side. He smelled faintly of chemicals and cigarettes. After the police car sped by, he released her. "Your driver was pulled over. I had to act quickly or you'd have been discovered by another patrol car. I'm sorry I closed you in back there."

Felicity pulled out her cell and hit two on her speed dial. Dig picked up on the first ring. "Where are you?"

"A cop pulled me over."

"I take it you weren't arrested if you're talking to me."

"I told the cop that I'm your body guard and you forgot your clothes for tonight at the office. I was on my way to deliver the clothes to you. I had to use the whole, Captain Lance is a personal friend of mine card."

Lance was probably thrilled to get that phone call. She wondered when she'd get a phone call from him with his lecture on the definition of low profile. "Did you pick up our other two packages?"

"I've got them. The green package is super grumpy. He'd say hi, but he's trying to get into his tux."

She smiled at what had to be an understatement about Oliver's mood. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you picked me up where you left me."

"We're on our way. I'm a block away."

Felicity breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the van. "I see you." She hung up the phone and turned to face the man without the face. "I guess I should thank you. What should I call you?"

"That's the million dollar question."

"I don't have a million dollars."

"Well, I guess my name will remain an unanswered question."

"In that case, thank you, Question."

"You're welcome."

"Why don't you have a face? I mean you must have a face under there because you're talking, so you must have lips and a tongue. Not that I'm thinking about your lips and tongue."

"I'm too pretty without my mask. I don't want the beautiful women I rescue to fall in love with me." Even with the voice modulator she could tell that he was teasing.

She laughed. "That must be a terrible burden for you." Felicity began walking backwards across the street to meet the approaching van. "What are you doing? Why did you help me?"

"I'm looking for the truth too." He started to back away from the street. "Felicity, be careful. You're looking in the wrong place. Ketchel isn't the problem."

"Who should I be looking at?" The van pulled up alongside her.

"Follow the money." He took another step backward and was lost to the shadows.

Thirty minutes later, Felicity and Oliver sauntered into the Grand Ballroom of the Starling City Regency Hotel. They were only an hour late to their own party. Tonight's gala was to raise funds for the rebuilding efforts in the Glades and for Oliver and Thea to announce the formation of their new charitable foundation. Felicity felt like every eye in the room was on them and smirking. She took in Oliver's appearance and sighed at his slightly rumpled appearance. Getting dressed in the back of their panel van was not conducive to maintaining a look of sophisticated elegance. "Please tell me I'm not as wrinkled as you." She whispered through the fake smile plastered to her face. "Everyone's going to think you've been ravishing me in the cloak room."

"Better that than what we were really doing." Oliver winked at her. He pulled her onto the dance floor and twirled her into his arms. "Although, I'm always more than happy to ravish you. Would you like to join me in the cloak room?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "That's not happening, so just put it out of your mind."

Oliver laughed and pulled her tightly against his chest. "I will forget about the cloak room, but I have plans for ringing in the New Year with you that I have no intention of forgetting."

Felicity noticed Oliver's new executive assistant, Gerry frantically searching the crowd for his boss. She made eye contact with Gerry and saw him look instantly relieved. She honestly felt sorry for the poor guy. She had a hard time wrangling Oliver when she was his assistant and she knew how he spent his nights. She was starting to worry that working for Oliver would give this kid a nervous breakdown too. According to Peggy, Mrs. Worth had quit because she thought that Oliver's inability to be on time or to answer his cell when she called was giving her heart palpitations. Felicity sent her a generous check and a week at a luxury spa from Oliver as a Christmas gift and a thank you for her service. "Gerry is waving us over. It must be time."

Oliver groaned, but took her hand and led her over to where Gerry was waiting. "Remind me again, why I wanted to be CEO."

"I'm pretty sure it was the billions of dollars." She nodded and smiled at one of the wives of a senior executive.

She couldn't help the giggle that burst out of her when Olive stumbled. He recovered quickly, but not before he shot her his best Arrow glare. "Nice."

Thea joined Oliver on stage and they both beamed their megawatt Queen smiles and charmed the crowd. Felicity drifted to the back of the room so she could grab a glass of wine from the open bar. She had taken her first sip of Cabernet Sauvignon when a familiar voice said, "My dad says you've had an eventful night."

Felicity rolled her eyes and took another sip of wine. "Nothing ever goes smoothly when you need it to."

Laurel smiled. "Ollie's doing a good job up there."

"Charm is something he has in abundance." As if on cue, the crowd laughed at a little joke he was telling about Thea.

"Don't I know it." Laurel said sadly.

Felicity and Laurel moved to a high top table so Felicity could eat some appetizers as they listened to the rest of Oliver's speech. When they left the stage to warm applause, Oliver and Thea were immediately surrounded by people eager to shake their hands. "What a difference six months makes." Felicity said with relief.

"Neither of them deserved what they got from the press and their so called society friends." Laurel said bitterly. "You definitely learn who your friends are when you hit rock bottom." Laurel squeezed Felicity's hands. "They're lucky to have you."

Felicity smiled in thanks and popped a dumpling into her mouth. A red head in a long black gown was kissing Oliver on the cheek. She could see his jaw tense even as he smiled and kissed the woman's cheek in return. "Do you know who that woman is?"

Laurel looked and her face fell. "Amy Abbott. I'd keep an eye out on her if I were you."

"Why's that?" Felicity watched as Oliver and Amy took to the dance floor. Amy moved to put her arms around his neck and he suavely took hold of one of her hands and spun her away from him. When he spun her back, he placed her hands in a much more chaste position. "Never mind, I think I'm getting the idea."

"Let's just say that ten years ago, she wasn't overly concerned that Oliver already had a girlfriend."

"Oh." Felicity said as she watched the pair dance. She knew that Oliver hadn't been a good guy before the Gambit, but seeing the living proof in front of her and the pained expression on Laurel's face was a little too much reality. "I honestly don't know how you didn't cut off his penis in his sleep." Laurel started choking on her tonic water and Felicity started to pat her back.

"Trust me. I was tempted." Laurel looked at Felicity out of the corner of her eye and they both broke into laughter. Felicity's gaze returned to Oliver and Amy. "Don't worry. He's not the same guy anymore."

"He's not the one I'm worried about." Felicity watched as a photographer snapped a picture. That was going to be a fun headline to read in the morning. Thea appeared out of nowhere and cut in between Oliver and Amy. Felicity owed the younger Queen a huge hug. A smile of relief spread across Oliver's face and he effortlessly spun them around the floor. The siblings looked happy and carefree. Laurel momentarily rested her head against Felicity's shoulder as they watched them dance. Felicity said a prayer into the universe that the New Year would treat them all kindly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed.
> 
> Like a Bird - I kept my promise. I hope you enjoyed Rosie's return. :-)
> 
> Up Next: Ringing in the New Year.


	4. January

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> January doesn't start or end according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My most sincerest apologies for the time lapse since my last update. I've been sick, had a leaking roof that flooded my kitchen and basement, had to travel for work and most recently, snow falling from my roof took out my cable and internet connection. This winter has been kicking my butt.
> 
> Thank you for all the comments and kudos for the last chapter. Without further ado, let's get back to it.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

Felicity was awoken to Oliver poking her shoulder. "Your boyfriend is interviewing Helena Bertenelli. It's going to be a series"

Felicity blinked her eyes and tried to focus on the tablet Oliver had propped beside her head. Without her glasses it was just a blur. She groped along the nightstand for her frames, not terribly excited to see whatever had Oliver's New Year off to a grumpy start. "I didn't realize you changed your career to journalism."

Oliver helped her to sit up and thrust the tablet into her lap. "You know what I mean."

Felicity studied the tablet and wished that they could go for a few days without another unwelcome complication. It didn't take more than a sentence to realize what had Oliver so upset. Channel 52 was going to air an interview Vic conducted with Helena over five nights. The article promised that Helena would be revealing secrets about the mob, her thoughts on revenge and vigilantism. "Technically, my perfectly sane ex-boyfriend is interviewing your psycho ex-girlfriend."

"This isn't funny." Oliver's brow was creased. "She could reveal my identity on television."

"Maybe, I can ask Sara to go kick her ass." Felicity fell back against her pillow. Talking about their exes was not how she wanted to spend the first day of the new year.

Oliver flopped onto his side with his head propped up by his bent arm. "Felicity," he growled.

"I don't know what you want me to say. You're the one who told her who you are. You're the one who had sex with her." Felicity sounded angrier than she really was. She'd never been jealous of Helena, mostly because she was several pixels short of a picture. Oliver had been with Helena before Felicity had even joined Oliver's crusade. When Helena resurfaced, Felicity was too busy looking for Walter to worry about who Oliver was sleeping with. Aside from being tied up by Helena, she and Dig had always enjoyed ribbing Oliver about her.

Oliver looked hurt and a little surprised. "Do we need to talk about this?"

"About what?"

"About Helena, Isabel, McKenna, Shado, Sara, Laurel."

"Oh my God, please don't list every woman you ever slept with." Felicity sat up. "I know you have an extensive past, but it will really help me sleep at night if I never think about it."

"I don't want this, my past, to be a problem for us. If we need to talk about it, let's talk about it."

"Oliver, please." She closed her eyes and hoped when she opened them this conversation would've been a dream. When she opened them again, Oliver was still looking at her. "We were out late. I haven't had my coffee and my brain to mouth filter has yet to engage. What I meant to say was, Helena hasn't outed you yet, not even for a reduced sentence, so I don't think she will now. I think she'll continue to protect you - honor amongst thieves and all that." Felicity scrambled out of bed and hurried to the bathroom, eager to end their conversation.

Oliver followed her and watched her brush her teeth from the doorway. Felicity looked everywhere but at his reflection in the mirror. A soggy towel was on the counter, but there wasn't any sign of steam, which meant he'd been up for hours, waiting for her to wake up so they could talk about Vic and Helena. "Is this about last night?"

Felicity's eyes locked onto his in the mirror. She rinsed her mouth and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I don't want to fight with you."

"We fight all the time." Oliver said in an attempt to lighten her mood.

"About work. About strategy. About you taking crazy chances. Never about personal stuff." Felicity ducked under his arm to return to their bedroom.

"Felicity, we're going to have fights." He was leaning against the wall, his sleep pants slung low across his hips. His hair had dried from his shower and was sticking up in tufts. He looked sexy and that only made her angrier.

"I don't want to fight with you." Felicity disappeared into their walk-in closet and started to open and close drawers at random.

"Does this mean I get my way for the rest of our lives?" Oliver teased. He'd followed her into the closet and seemed to be amused.

This made Felicity pause. It wasn't realistic to think that she could avoid every argument with Oliver. He was pretty infuriating, at times. It probably wasn't very healthy to avoid confrontations either. She looked up at him. "My parents fought all the time. Then he left. I don't want that."

Oliver was immediately in front of her and pulled Felicity into his arms. "Hey, I'm not going to leave if we fight and we aren't your parents or mine, we're us. You have to talk to me when I've done something to upset you. If you keep holding it inside, one day it will be too much and you'll leave me." He kissed the top of her head. "You can tell me anything. I can't promise that I won't ever get mad, but I can promise that I won't ever leave."

"It's not about you. I'm mad at myself." Felicity buried her head against his chest. Oliver pulled back and tilted his head. She gave him a wan smile and held up her thumb and forefinger. "Okay, maybe I'm a little mad at you."

"So, Amy Abbott." Oliver said gently.

Felicity pulled out of his arms and folded her own across her chest. She'd done her research on Amy Abbott after Oliver went to sleep. Amy and Oliver had crossed paths during his brief time at Harvard. While he was majoring in flunking out, she was making a name for herself at the Kennedy School of Government. She graduated with honors and then went on to obtain her MBA at Yale. Upon graduation, she joined the State Department and was now attached to the American Embassy in Moscow. She was in town because the Moscow Ballet was launching their American tour in Starling. If Felicity had hoped to learn that the elegant and graceful brunette was a bimbo, she'd been disheartened to uncover her resume. To top it all off, she was internationally ranked in dressage. The redhead couldn't be any more of a socialite cliché if she tried. Amy Abbott wasn't a woman to be dismissed. She was accomplished and intelligent and Felicity hated her a little bit for it. From her limited observation she knew that the woman never tripped over her tongue and said the wrong thing to the wrong people. Unlike Felicity, Amy belonged at charitable fundraising galas dressed in designer ball gowns while chatting with the social, political and financial elite.

Felicity didn't know how to explain to Oliver how all her of her own accomplishments and self-worth seemed to fly out the window when one of his ex-girlfriends or one of Moira's former lunch companions looked down their noses at her like she just crawled from the sewer. Oliver never made her feel like that, but there were times when her mother's last words to her haunted her from the grave. She was an imposter and everyone seemed to know it but Oliver. Since she moved into the mansion, the tabloids had ramped up their cruelty. They were currently running a ticker of the number of days Oliver had been faithful on the top of the society pages. According to the QC publicists, the tabloids were even offering top dollars to any woman who could provide hard proof that Oliver had cheated on her. So much for maintaining the low profile they promised Captain Lance. All of these thoughts scurried around her head until she finally looked at him. His face was full of love and concern and she knew her fears were unwarranted. So, instead of allowing the demons her mom had been planting in her head since childhood give voice to all of her insecurities, she just said, "Harvard."

Oliver narrowed his eyes like he was trying to will her to say more. "Yes, we dated for a few months at Harvard."

"Did you love her?"

"No. We partied together. I got kicked out of school. That was it." She believed him, but Amy had implied there'd been a lot more to their relationship when she'd introduced herself to Felicity when Oliver had stepped away to speak with an investor. "Felicity, she wasn't a very nice person, but she didn't complain that I was drunk or high all the time or that I had a girlfriend back home. She enjoyed the perks that came with my name and when being Oliver Queen wasn't enough, my bank account more than made up for it. We used one another. It definitely wasn't love. Hell, I don't think either of us even liked one another."

He looked ashamed and Felicity felt terrible for making him talk about it. It was in these moments when his past made him question whether he deserved better than one night stands with random women and she didn't want him to start to question whether he deserved to be happy in a relationship with her. She needed to accept that he had a past and women were going to inevitably come out of the woodwork from time to time. She needed to keep reminding herself that she was the woman he loved now and the rest didn't matter. "Okay."

"Felicity, you know that the tabloids are never going to catch me cheating, right? I'm never going to cheat on you." She looked down at her feet. "Please, look at me and tell me you know that."

She did as he requested. "Yes, I know that. Besides, you don't have the time for an affair."

"Don't. Don't joke, not about this. I'm not going to cheat on you. I wouldn't do that to you or to us. I don't want to be with anyone else. Please." Oliver's voice was heavy with emotion as he lifted her chin.

"I trust you with my life."

"I know, but the real question is, do you trust me with your heart?"

The answer was simple. "Yes."

His shoulders sagged in relief. "I'm sorry if I acted weird last night and made you feel badly. I don't like it when you're reminded of Ollie because you wouldn't have given him the time of day. I did a lot of incredibly stupid and selfish things back then that I can't undo. I wish that I could. I wish I was someone you could be proud of."

She rushed towards him and grabbed his face between her hands to lower his eyes to hers. "I am proud of you. I'm proud of the man you are today. Don't ever doubt that."

"But,"

"I don't care about the rest. I really, really, really, don't. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and let everything get away from me. I didn't want to spend today like this. I wish we could do this morning over." Oliver's face became determined and she let out a small shriek when he lifted her into his arms in a bridal carry. "Oliver, what are you doing?"

He silently returned them to their bedroom and laid her back on the bed. He pulled the covers up to her chin, removed her ponytail elastic and returned her glasses to the nightstand. He then climbed onto his side of the bed and pulled the covers over himself. He rolled over to face her and ran his hand over her eyes and whispered, "Close your eyes." When she did, he ran a finger down her cheek and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Good morning." She opened her eyes. "Happy New Year, Felicity." He kissed her again.

She couldn't help but smile at him. Everyone saw different sides of him and she knew that she was the only one lucky enough to see all of him. As dangerous and charming as he was, at heart, he was an endearing goofball who did his best to make sure she knew that she was loved. She caressed his face and he kissed her palm. "Happy New Year, Oliver." They kissed slowly knowing that they had a lazy day ahead of them and were in no hurry to get out of bed. He began to nuzzle her neck. "I love you."

He looked at her and smiled. "I love you." She kissed him and they finally started the New Year the way she'd always planned.

VVVVV

Sometimes Felicity wondered when her life had become surreal. It probably started when she found a green-hooded Oliver Queen bleeding out on her backseat from a gunshot he'd received from his own mother. From that moment she could draw a line, albeit a curvy one that double backed on itself, to sitting in the breakfast room eating a leisurely breakfast with Oliver, Thea and Roy. As if living in a home that had something called a breakfast room wasn't crazy enough, they also had a cook who'd prepared them each a breakfast to order. Surreal didn't even come close to describing her life.

Oliver sat next to Felicity lost in whatever report he was reading from the head of QC's finance group. Roy appeared to be playing some type of game on his phone and Thea was reading something on hers. Felicity's tablet lay on the table but she hadn't opened it yet. She sat staring at her dining companions and realized that no one had said a word to one another in fifteen minutes. "Oliver is getting me a pony."

"Mmm." Oliver dropped a hand to her knee and traced a lazy circle.

"That's nice." Thea said without looking up from her phone.

Only Roy looked up and gave her a questioning look. "What are you going to do with a pony?"

Roy's question finally got the Queen siblings to look up from their electronic devices. "Who's getting a pony?" Thea asked.

"Oliver is getting Felicity a pony." Roy informed the siblings.

Oliver grinned and leaned into Felicity. "Is this your way of telling me you'd like some attention?"

"I don't see the point of us all sitting together if we're not going to speak to one another."

Roy leaned across the table and in a stage whisper told Felicity, "I think that rich, repressed, white people aren't supposed to talk to one another while they eat. It interferes with their digestion."

Felicity brought a hand to her mouth to suppress the giggle that was threatening to burst forth at the sight of Oliver's jaw twitching. Thea playfully swatted Roy's arm. "Who's repressed?"

Oliver pointed across the table at Thea and Roy. "Neither of you better answer that question."

Felicity couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, for the sake of Oliver's digestion let's all agree that we're all repressed." Oliver gave her a look and was about to speak when he just shook his head and returned to his report.

"Oh no," Thea gasped and her eyes darted from her phone to Felicity.

"What?" Felicity swallowed heavily as she tentatively reached for her own tablet.

"The good news is that the tabloids aren't calling you a gold digger today." Thea said with false cheer and passed her phone to Roy who gave a worried look to Oliver before he put it down on the table.

Felicity opened her tablet and immediately saw the media alerts. She tapped on the application and gasped when she saw the headline. "Oh, God." The headline was _Queen's Smoaking Booty_. The article then went on to describe her bottom with adjectives like, round, tight, high, firm, luscious and spankable. The article was accompanied by ten photos of just her bottom in evening gowns, jeans, skirts and work dresses. Readers were being asked to vote on the outfit her butt looked the best in. Against her better judgment she scrolled to the comments section only to find out what the public thought about her butt and what they'd like to do to it. One graphic comment had her wishing she could scrub the image from her brain.

"What?" Oliver asked, a line of concern furrowing his brow.

"It's noth..." Felicity didn't finish her sentence because Oliver tilted his head and pointed a finger at her. "Oliver, really, it's just the tabloids looking for a new angle to sell papers."

Roy snorted. "New angle."

"Really?" Felicity and Thea asked him at the same time.

Oliver held out his hand for her tablet and she reluctantly placed it into his hand. She braced herself for his inevitable explosion. He read the article with a blank expression on his face. "That one's not you." He pushed the tablet and pointed to a picture of an orange dress.

"You know my butt that well that you're certain that isn't mine?" Felicity asked as she stared at the picture. "I'm not sure it isn't mine."

Oliver raised a brow at her. "Felicity, do you own that dress? I don't remember ever seeing you in it."

He was right. She didn't own the dress in the photo. "That's not my butt."

"Good, I'll call our publicist and tell her to demand they print a retraction and pull down the page since they don't even have the integrity to publish pictures of you." Oliver pulled out his cell.

Felicity placed her hand on his. "Oliver, I don't think that's a good idea. If we make a big deal of it, they'll only have incentive to do more pictures of my butt or breasts or legs. Let them have their fun." She squeezed his hand and tried to make him smile. She returned her attention to the article. "I will be really pissed if the picture of the orange dress wins."

"Felicity," he rubbed his hands over his head, "I hate this."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I know and I love you for it. Besides, Thea is right. Stories about my butt are better than the one's about me being a gold digger." Oliver dropped his head and she could tell he wasn't entirely convinced.

VVVVV

The sound of the guys sparring had become white noise to Felicity as she went through the results of her search on Kechel Construction's servers. The Question had been right, the hack of their computers and the surveillance of their offices and conference rooms hadn't provided any evidence. She'd also run into a dead end with the offshore accounts of the Starling City public officials. It appears that the deposits were all made in cash in the Cayman Islands. She'd attempted to hack into the bank's security cameras, but the bank didn't store any footage for more than a week. She was starting to look into flight manifests to see if she could find any passengers that arrived in the Cayman's each time there was a deposit in one of the accounts. So far, it had been an exercise in futility. For all she knew, the person making the deposits lived in the Cayman's and was just shifting money around on Oscar's behalf. She was frustrated and so were the guys. They couldn't take out the bad guys if she couldn't identify them. Her computer beeped. "Damn it." She pushed herself away from her desk in anger.

The quiet in the lair had her turning in her chair. All three of the guys were standing on the mats looking at her with concern. "Everything okay?" Oliver asked pulling a t-shirt on as he approached her.

"No. Everything's not okay. I can't find anyone connected the Bratva on the flights to the Cayman's, but I did find six guys who owe thousands in child support. One guess what they're doing."

"Any of them from Starling?" Roy asked. "I'm up for threatening deadbeat dads."

Felicity smiled at Roy. "Unfortunately, no." She couldn't send Roy to threaten them, but it didn't mean she couldn't send details to the mothers of their children.

"Why don't we all call it a night?" Oliver squeezed her shoulders. "We'll come back to it tomorrow and figure out a different way to approach the problem."

"I'd like to stop thinking about this, at least for tonight." Felicity said with a smile.

"No complaints here. I'm going home so I can eat some animal protein for dinner at least once this month." Dig winked at Felicity with a wide grin on his face and she couldn't help but laugh.

Roy and Dig moved to go change leaving Felicity and Oliver alone. He gently pulled her to her feet and pulled her into a sweaty embrace. "I'm going to change and then I have a few ideas of how I can make you forget all about bank accounts and flight manifests." He gave her a promise filled kiss and pulled away. As she watched him walk to the back of the lair, she was pretty sure she couldn't remember her own birthday.

Roy was the first to appear dressed in his street clothes. "Night, Felicity."

She spun in her chair to face him. She gestured for him to come to her and spoke in a low voice. "I need to talk to you about something."

Roy shrugged and approached her, pulling Dig's chair over. As he dropped into the chair he asked, "What's going on?"

She reached into her bag and pulled out a large envelope and handed it to him. "Congratulations."

Roy looked at the return address on the envelope and gave her a questioning look. He pulled out the contents of the envelope and began to read. "Felicity, why do I have an acceptance letter and an offer for a full scholarship to SCU? I'm pretty sure I didn't apply."

"I might have done that for you." She said apologetically. "I also wrote you a pretty awesome letter of recommendation."

Roy shook his head. "I never graduated from high school. How did I get into college?"

Felicity couldn't tell if he was angry or amused. "I might've hacked into the Starling City Board of Education and updated your transcripts." She pulled another item out of her bag and handed him his high school diploma. "Don't worry, I didn't make you a nerd. You were a solid C+/B- student."

Roy looked at the diploma. "You made me a fake diploma?"

"No, of course not. I wrote to the Board of Education and told them you lost it during the earthquake. They reissued one for you."

Roy rubbed his eyes. "So, you changed my transcripts to make it look like I graduated from high school so I could go to college." He watched her nod. "I don't want to go to college."

She leaned forward and grabbed his hands. "I know, but hear me out. I have three reasons why I think you should go to college. First, you and I weren't born with silver spoons in our mouths. We've had to fight for everything we have. We might not be living in a mansion with a Queen forever. We have to be able to take care of ourselves."

"Felicity, I've always taken care of myself. I've always made do." Roy's voice was soft but it was laced with anger.

"I know, but you shouldn't have to make do. You're smart and capable, besides you can't be Arsenal and a petty thief." Roy opened his mouth as if to speak, but snapped it shut. Felicity continued. "Second, being a vigilante is a lot like being a professional athlete. You have a short window before you're body starts to give out. Oliver is a knee injury away from total knee replacement and he's only twenty nine. Unlike professional athletes, you aren't paid for your vigilante work. Whatever job you plan on supporting yourself with better not require manual labor. Third, I need you to think about majoring in computer science."

Roy sat up straight with her request. "Computer science?"

"Roy, Oliver has you and Dig to back him up on the street. I don't have a back-up. I love Oliver and Dig, but they are lost when it comes to my system. You have some basic talent and I think it can be nurtured. If something were to happen to me, I don't have a back-up. You guys need someone who can do what I do so you stay safe and out of jail."

Roy leaned forward and took her hands. "Is something wrong? Are you okay?"

She smiled warmly at him. "I'm fine, I promise. It would just make me feel better to know that we have a back-up plan for my role."

Roy sighed. "I don't think I can do this. I was never any good at school."

"I know you can do it, plus you'll have me to help you with your homework." Felicity relaxed when Roy grinned at her. "If you don't like computer science, you can pick whatever major you want. I just need you to promise that you'll work with me on the systems a few hours a week."

"Okay." Roy said.

Felicity clapped her hands. "Yay. Oliver can have your body, but your mind is mine." The smirk on Roy's face had her slapping her own forehead. "You know what I mean."

"Fortunately, I'm fluent in Smoak." He stood up and rolled Dig's chair back. "Thea's waiting."

"Classes start Monday." She called to his retreating back. He raised a hand in silent acknowledgment. Felicity sank back into her chair with a sigh of relief. Having system redundancies in place always made her feel better.

 

VVVVV

"Felicity, talk me in." Roy was almost inaudible over the roar of his motorcycle.

Felicity watched Roy zoom by the traffic camera she had up on her monitor. They were in pursuit of an eighteen-wheeler containing narcotics bound for Oscar's Vegas territory. Oscar had neglected to inform Oliver, as agreed to in their arrangement, that there was even going to be a shipment. They only knew about the drugs because Roy busted some guy on patrol the night before who thought he'd be able to convince Arsenal to let him go in exchange for the information about the Bratva shipment. Roy and Dig were now scrambling because the narcotics had departed an hour earlier than expected. "Arsenal, turn east on 16th. You should be able to intercept before they reach Kent."

"How's everything going?" Felicity's eyes darted to her other monitor displaying a security feed. She smiled as she watched a very bored Oliver survey the hotel ballroom he was going to be spending the evening in. He was making a public appearance at a fundraiser for a mayoral candidate who was running for the special election in the spring. They decided it would be for the best if Oliver was seen in public while the Arrow took down another Bratva shipment.

By his body language, she could tell that he was contemplating sneaking out. "Oliver, you're supposed to be mingling and getting photographed," she chided him. Her attention returned to her other monitor and she muted her connection with Oliver. "Damn it. Dig, change of plans. Head to the River Street bridge, I'm going to divert them."

"Copy that." Dig replied evenly.

"What's going on Blondie?"

"Accident at Kent and 5th. Target is now heading west. I need you to head north on Market." Felicity opened her connection with Starling's public transportation network and lowered the train crossing the truck was fast approaching. She grinned as she watched the truck diverted to the north on Market. Her attention shifted to the River Street Bridge that led out of Starling. Once the truck left the city, her guys wouldn't be able to pursue. The arrangement they shared with the SCPD didn't extend outside the city limits. If they wanted to stop the shipment, they needed to do it before the truck crossed the bridge. She eyed her team's progress by their trackers and was worried that the truck had too much of a head start on the guys. She used her hack of the city's traffic network to change the upcoming stop light to red in attempt to give Roy and Dig a chance to catch up. She watched in disbelief as the truck plowed through the intersection, causing three cars to collide. "Damn it," she said again as she picked up her burner to call in the accident. If these guys weren't going to obey traffic signals, she was going to make sure all the lights stayed green.

Felicity weighed their options as she watched her team's progress. She switched her camera view to the River Street bridge. Traffic was light and flowing easily. She wanted to clear a straight path for the truck in order to minimize collateral damage when the guys finally caught up. The River Street bridge was down by the marina and provided stunning views of the city and the bay. The bridge sat low to the water and gave the illusion that you were driving across the waves. A crazy idea struck her, but she wasn't sure if she had enough time to execute. The bridge's low profile across the mouth of the bay necessitated it to be a drawbridge, a feature that was about to become decidedly handy.

Felicity began to type furiously as she turned all the traffic signals approaching the bridge red. She changed the traffic alert signs to display, _River Street Bridge Closed. Detour to 52nd Street Bridge_. She then began the process of raising the bridge. She held her breath as she willed the last of the cars across the bridge. As the last car cleared the center, the bridge began to slowly rise. Satisfied that her detour was working, she shut off the traffic alerts and turned all lights in the truck's path green. They would have the truck trapped in Starling at the base of the bridge. Oscar was going to be denied another delivery of drugs. "Change in plans. The River Street bridge is up, we just need to cut off their escape."

Dig chuckled. "I take it you're responsible for that."

"I see them." Roy accelerated his bike.

"Me too." Dig's tracker indicated his van was about to intercept the truck on the bridge's entrance ramp.

Before she could respond, Felicity watched as the truck appeared to accelerate. She rose out of her chair as she realized the driver was going to attempt to jump the bridge. The driver was clearly an idiot who didn't understand the laws of physics if he actually thought he was going to be able to clear the ever widening gap. "Stop," she shouted. "Stay clear of the bridge." She knew without checking that Roy and Dig would stop as soon as she told them to. They trusted her to be their eyes and never questioned the instructions she provided over the comms. She watched in disbelief as just the cab of the truck dropped over the top of the bridge. Felicity dropped in her chair and attempted to stop the bridge's ascent. Before she could finish typing the command, gravity and the height of the bridge took everything out of her hands. The cab of the truck rose high enough to once again be aligned with the trailer. It was no longer stuck on the lip of the bridge and the truck flipped backwards and began to roll end over end down the slope of the bridge. "Dig," she said in a whisper.

"We're on it. Call it in." Dig said. When she didn't respond, he tried again. "Felicity, you need to call it in."

"Copy." As if in a trance she called 911 and informed them of the accident and the presence of the Arrow and Arsenal on site. She watched Dig, dressed in his own Arrow suit, and Arsenal slowly circle the wreckage of the truck. As gasoline began to leak from the truck and onto the surrounding roadway she felt herself flood with fear. "Are they dead?" She asked softly.

"The cab is too heavily damaged to get them out. The fire department will need to cut them out." Roy answered vaguely.

"Are they dead?" She asked forcefully as she tried to keep her mounting hysteria from her voice.

"I don't know, but it looks pretty bad." Dig answered gently.

Felicity turned to the monitor displaying Oliver having a conversation with a small group of older men, probably friends of his father, as he pretended to sip his champagne. She was overwhelmed with the desire to be held in his arms and almost unmuted their connection to tell him to come home. Her hand hesitated over the switch as she realized she'd never be able to keep the fear out of her voice. Oliver had his role to play tonight and so did the rest of the team. "Police and fire are one minute out. There's nothing more you can do. Come home."

"Felic..." Dig started to say, but she tore the comm from her ear and made her way to the bathroom in a daze. She splashed cold water onto her face as she contemplated how her actions might be responsible for the deaths of the Bratva men, not to mention the people in the three cars in the accident at the intersection the truck blew through. Her choices might've resulted in severe injury and loss of life. Whatever happened, was on her. The weight of that realization had her sinking to the bathroom floor. Tonight, she might have become a killer.

Not wanting the guys to find her falling apart, she straightened out her skirt and smoothed out her ponytail and returned to her desk. She breathed a sigh of relief as she skimmed the police report for the three car collision when it revealed no one had been injured. Reluctantly, she returned to looking at the camera feed from the bridge. The truck was surrounded by first responders . A group of firefighters were attempting to open the cab with the jaws of life. Another group of firefighters were spraying a foam onto the leaking gasoline. Four paramedics stood to the side as they waited for the two men trapped in the cab to be accessible. The police were concentrated at the rear of the truck. Two officers used bolt cutters to open the trailer's doors. Felicity leaned forward in her seat as pandemonium erupted on her screen. Even though there wasn't any audio, she could tell the police were shouting. The four paramedics ran to the back of the truck. The emergency services scanner at the end of her desk crackled to life. An officer was asking for additional ambulances. Felicity's fist flew to her mouth to stifle a scream when she saw one of the paramedics emerge from the truck with the limp body of a woman in his arms.

The trailer hadn't been full of drugs as they'd thought. The reason Oscar hadn't told Oliver about this shipment wasn't to cut him out of his fee, but because he was trafficking in humans, people who had just been flung about the inside of a container as the truck rolled.

When Dig and Roy returned to the lair twenty minutes later, they found Felicity watching the police, firefighters and paramedics lining up bodies on the street outside of the truck. So far, twenty-three women had been removed and covered with a sheet on the street. Five women had been taken away by ambulance as were the two men in the cab of the truck. "It wasn't drugs." Felicity said, as if they couldn't see what was being removed from the back of the trailer.

Dig stepped away and out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Oliver answered his cell. His body tensed and his eyes sought out a security camera, looking at her. Roy reached across her and turned off the monitor displaying the bodies. He held out his hand to her. "Let's go get some air."

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Felicity." Dig approached her like she was a wounded animal. "It's not your fault."

She gave him a smile that was probably more like a wince. "I know. It's like you and Oliver always say. Sometimes you can do everything right and it still goes wrong."

"We didn't know there were people in the back of that truck. You made the best choices you could with the information you had." Dig placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Right." She rested her cheek against his hand for a moment. "I'm alright, I promise," she lied. "I'm going to head home. Would you call Oliver for me and tell him?" She knew that the moment she heard his voice or saw him she wouldn't be able to keep it together.

"I'll drive you home." Dig said holding up her red coat.

Felicity slipped her arms into her coat."That's okay. I can drive myself."

"I wasn't asking."

Forty five minutes later she was standing under her shower in the mansion. The water was set to as hot as she could tolerate and she stood with her chin tilted into the steady stream. She didn't move when she heard the shower door open nor when Oliver stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. It wasn't until he tightened his embrace and pulled her back flush against his chest that the dam she'd built up from the moment the first girl was removed from the truck burst. Her body began to shake as she was racked by silent sobs. Oliver spun her so she was facing him. With one arm he held her to his chest and he shut off the water with the other. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest as all the grief and guilt poured out of her. "I killed them," she wailed.

Oliver scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He lowered the blankets on their bed and gently sat her down as he draped a fluffy towel across her shoulders. He knelt in front of her as he dried her off and she continued to sob. He cupped her face between his hands and pulled her forward until her forehead rested against his. "Felicity, you didn't kill those women."

"I raised the bridge."

"Why?"

She hadn't expected a question and it silenced her tears. "Why what?"

"Why did you raise the bridge?" He tilted her chin to look in her eyes.

"To, to stop the truck."

"You thought they'd do the normal thing and stop. You had no way of knowing the driver would do anything so reckless as to try to jump a drawbridge in a tractor trailer. The driver is the one responsible for their deaths, not you."

Felicity leaned forward and rested her head in the crook of his neck. He didn't understand. If she hadn't been trying to be clever or unwilling to allow the truck to get away, those women would be alive. She knew that Oscar had untold horrors planned for them, but as long as they lived there would've been hope. Now they were dead and would never be able to hope for anything again. He was right, she couldn't have predicted the driver's irrational choice, but she had driven him to desperation. "I know that in the eyes of the law I'm as responsible as you are for the deaths of those men you killed when you first started." She felt him tense beneath her fingers, but he remained silent. "I know that I was the one that gave you the information that led you to your targets, but I was always able to tell myself that I hadn't killed anyone. But tonight, those women are all dead because of the choices I made. It doesn't matter that it wasn't my intent, they're as dead as if I shot an arrow through their hearts. I'm a killer." The pained look on his face had her regretting everything she just said. She was a hypocrite and it was unfair to place the entire burden of the Hood's body count on Oliver's shoulders. They liked to joke that Oliver was the muscle and Felicity was the brain of their operation, but that meant she was just as culpable for the deaths of the men he murdered after she joined his team. She'd been lying to herself for all of these years. She'd been a killer long before tonight, but the dead women only just made her realize it.

"No." Oliver said with tears running down his face. "You aren't." He stood and shifted her so he could crawl into the bed beside her. He pulled her against his body and rubbed her back. "Felicity, intent does matter. It was an accident." He placed a kiss to the top of her head. "Sleep."

She pressed her ear against his chest and listened to his heart. She tried matching her breathing to his and to focus on how soothing his hands were on her back. She wanted to believe him that what had happened wasn't her fault, but every time her eyes closed the image of the twenty-three bodies draped in sheets reminded her that they were dead because of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcome.
> 
> Up Next: Oscar makes his presence in Starling known.


	5. February

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bratva Surprises, Valentine's Day and Clandestine Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. It is a much longer chapter than usual, so I hope you'll forgive me.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left me a comment or a kudos on the last chapter. Your continued support for this story is what keeps me motivated to complete this trilogy. Like A Bird, I hope you'll forgive me for the last chapter after reading this chapter.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

All in all, twenty-eight young women were removed from the back of the trailer and lined up on the pavement. Each body draped in a white sheet, a ghostly reminder of how Felicity had screwed up. It had been two days since the accident and Felicity had been unable to get more than a few hours of sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the truck rolling down the bridge. Images of the women being tossed around the interior of the trailer like rag dolls had her waking in Oliver's arms gasping for breath. The two Bratva men and five surviving women were in the hospital with very severe injuries. All of them were listed in critical but stable condition. Oliver and Thea were anonymously covering the costs for whatever medical treatment and rehabilitation the women required. They had also hired immigration attorneys for all of the women since it appeared they'd all been brought into the country illegally. Felicity knew that Oliver and Thea would've been this generous even if she and the Bratva hadn't been involved with the accident, but she knew Oliver's motivation was probably more about her psychological well being and his guilt that she'd been in a position to make a lethal choice than doing a good deed. Felicity sat at her desk staring at the news footage of the accident when Peggy lightly touched her back. "Felicity."

She let out a yelp and pushed back from her desk, her heart racing. "Peggy, what?"

"I'm sorry, I tried the intercom but you didn't respond. Mr. Queen has been trying to reach you. He said that if you're not in his office in the next five minutes he's going to ask the Arrow to find you." Her assistant flashed her a sympathetic smile.

Felicity snorted. Great, now Oliver was making Arrow jokes with the staff. As if it wasn't hard enough to keep up appearances with Gerry and Peggy. She was sure that both of their Executive Assistants chalked up their unexplained absences and rushed departures to copious amounts of sex, but they were both extremely clever and observant and if they got enough of the puzzle pieces they would probably be able to figure out how their bosses really spent their nights. Things had been a lot easier when she was the one who had to come up with Oliver's lame excuses. Now that they were publicly a couple, they could no longer use his careless playboy ways as an excuse. "I'm sorry, Peggy. My head is somewhere else today."

"Those poor women. There are real monsters out there." Peggy said as she watched the footage on Felicity's monitor.

Peggy had no idea that her own boss was the monster responsible for those deaths. "Please tell Gerry that I'm on my way."

The door to Oliver's office was closed, but he wasn't seated at his desk. She looked to Gerry who shrugged. Clearly whatever Oliver had summoned her for wasn't work related. Felicity pushed opened the door to find Oliver, Dig and Laurel seated on the sofas. The knot that had been in her stomach for two days tightened. "Is this an intervention?" She asked in a half-hearted attempt to lighten the somber atmosphere.

Oliver held out his hand to her and smiled. "Laurel has some news that she wanted to share with us in person."

Felicity eyed the brunette warily. There was a large official looking folder on the coffee table. She sat down next to Oliver, but her eyes never left the folder. "What's that?"

"The coroner's reports on the twenty-eight women." Laurel sounded dispassionate and exactly what Felicity imagined a DA should sound like. She wished she had the ability to turn off her own emotions. "I thought you'd like to see the reports."

Felicity's hand shakily reached for the folder, but Oliver took her hand and held it tightly against his thigh. "Laurel, what do they say?"

Laurel took a deep breath and looked directly at Felicity. "The cause of death for all of the women was dehydration."

"Dehydration?" Felicity, Oliver and Diggle asked at once. All three sitting up straighter in surprise. Dig reached for the folder and began to flip through the pages.

"Felicity, you didn't kill those women. They were dead before they got into that truck. The coroner says that some of them were dead for more than a week. They died in whatever cargo container they were shipped here in. The driver was probably instructed to get the bodies out of the city. When the Arrow started chasing the truck, the driver probably panicked. Trafficking women is one thing, twenty-eight counts of murder is something else."

Dig placed a hand onto Felicity's back. "The driver chose to jump the bridge rather than have Roy and me find the bodies."

"Lucky for us, most criminals aren't all that smart." Laurel said as she rose from the sofa. "You can keep the folder. I assume you'll want to look into whoever is trafficking women into Starling."

Oliver stood up and hugged Laurel. "Thank you."

Before she opened his office door she said, "Ollie, I really hope you catch the bastard before the cops do."

"Fe-li-ci-ty," Oliver said as he lifted her chin.

"Mmm." She nodded. She realized he must've spoken her name several times.

"Are you okay?" His voice was laced with concern.

"They were already dead." A deep shuttering breath tore through her and her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

Oliver gave her a relieved smile. "It wasn't your fault."

All of the grief, anger and guilt that she'd been holding onto since the first body was pulled out of the truck poured out of her. She hadn't permitted herself to grieve since the night it happened because Oliver had been so racked with his own guilt. He wanted to protect her from the darkness and he somehow believed that if her hands were never tainted with blood it meant that he hadn't ruined her life the moment he walked into her office with a bullet riddled laptop. Oliver pulled her into his arms and rubbed soothing circles into her back as she sobbed. The women had died a horrific death and deserved to be spoken for. Their deaths weren't her fault, but they were Oscar's and she was going to make sure he never hurt anyone again.

VVVVV

The thing about the paparazzi is that they're actually pretty lazy. The mansion's gates had only one cameraman a week stalking the driveway's entrance. Felicity and Oliver kept such weird hours that it wasn't worth anyone's time to cover the mansion. Once, Dig's security team found one guy in a tree with a telephoto lens aimed at house, but no one else had risked trespassing on the Queen property. There were always cameras in front of QC, hoping to capture them walking to and from lunch. Felicity no longer fetched her own coffee, which made her feel like a hypocrite, but it had become too stressful facing down the cameras every time she needed caffeine.

Thea had become Felicity's unofficial media consultant and had become invaluable in teaching the ins and outs of managing the press. Oliver's little sister might look like a vapid _celebutant_ , but she was pretty savvy when it came to manipulating the tabloid press. Felicity was now being taught the valuable lesson about dining out. Thea explained that there were certain restaurants in town where you dined in order to be seen by the press. Whenever you dined at one of these establishments, the expectation was that you'd stop and pose for pictures and answer a few questions on your way in and out of the restaurant. Felicity and Thea had begun to eat lunch once a week at such a restaurant so Felicity could be seen in a controlled environment in an attempt to lessen the feeding frenzy that awaited her everyday at QC. Their PR team, Felicity couldn't believe she had a PR team, encouraged her and Oliver to dine out once a month so the press could get a controlled look at them on a date. So far, Oliver and Felicity hadn't complied with the PR team's instructions. Life as members of a vigilante crime fighting team didn't leave much time for staged romantic nights on the town.

Thea and Rosie had met Felicity at a small Italian restaurant in the Glades for lunch. It wasn't a restaurant to be seen in, it was a place where she could relax for an hour and enjoy time with her friends. Rosie and Thea were showing her designs for a community dance studio they were going to open in the Glades. Thea was bankrolling the project through the charitable foundation she established with Oliver. Classes would be free to residents of the Glades and the two women were excited with their plans. They were discussing different types of dance styles that would be taught and what would be most appealing to the community. Felicity was laughing at Thea's reaction to Rosie talking about twerking in her senior center's dancercise classes back in Vegas, when a ping went off on both of the younger women's phones.

Felicity sighed as she read the latest tabloid article about her butt. Looking across the table at Thea, she knew that Thea was reading the same alert. "I guess they're not tired of it yet."

Thea slid her phone over to Rosie who pulled out her reading glasses to examine the small screen. "On the bright side, your butt really does look amazing in those jeans."

Rosie removed her glasses and smiled at Felicity. "Your tush looks fantastic. Let them take as many pictures of it as they want. One day you'll be happy to have photographic proof that your butt and boobs didn't always touch your knees."

Felicity rolled her eyes at her aunt's version of a glass half full pep talk. Although, Rosie and Thea were right, her butt did look incredible in those jeans. All the squats Dig had her doing in the lair while they waited for Oliver and Roy to return from patrol were really paying off. However, how good her butt looks is really beside the point. She hated being reduced to a body part just because she was dating Oliver. The pictures completely dehumanized her because more often than not, the photos didn't even include her head. There were lots and lots of online discussions about her posterior and her PR team had even fielded a request for her to be interviewed about how she keeps her rear "high and tight" for one of the nightly gossip shows. Roy thought they could make a fortune from selling their vigilante workout routine, but Laurel had dampened his enthusiasm when she informed him that criminals weren't allowed to profit from their crimes.

She was about to voice her concerns about Oliver's inevitable meltdown when he sees the latest article when a man clears his throat behind Thea. Felicity's heart temporarily stopped beating. "Jimmy?" Her vision went black around the edges as panic began to set in. Jimmy Roman, the man her mom stole millions of dollars worth of drugs from, who Oliver knocked unconscious and locked in a car trunk and one of Oscar Orlov's main enforcers was standing in front of her in Starling City. She forced a deep breath into her lungs and a neutral expression onto her face.

He came around the table and kissed her cheek. "I thought that was you, Felicity. How are you?" His words were friendly but his eyes were cold and full of contempt.

"What are you doing here?" She stammered.

"I'm in town on business and I was having lunch with some old friends when I saw you." Felicity glanced around the dining room and didn't see anyone Jimmy could've been dining with. He was following her and he was standing in front of her as a way of threatening Oliver through her and Thea. Jimmy looked over to Thea and extended his hand. "My manners. I apologize, I'm James Roman, and old friend of Felicity's. I've known her since she was a little girl."

Ever polite, Thea extended her hand and coolly said, "Thea Queen."

Jimmy shifted his attention. "How are you Rosie? It's been a long time."

Felicity could see a biting retort on her aunt's tongue and she shook her head. Rosie plastered a smile onto her face and extended her hand. "Funny, it seems like only yesterday to me. How's your mother? Your family?"

Jimmy grasped her hand and brought Rosie's hand to his lips to brush his lips against her knuckles. "She's well, thank you for asking. Actually, I'm hoping to reconnect with some family while I'm in town." Releasing Rosie's hand he turned to Felicity. "May I have a moment of your time?" He addressed the other women with a smile. "I promise to give her right back."

Felicity rose from the table and gave her aunt her most reassuring smile when the woman clasped her hand tightly in silent warning. "Please order me a coffee. I'll be right back."

Jimmy led Felicity to an empty table in the bar. "You're aunt still doesn't like me."

"She didn't appreciate you slapping my mom around or having her mule drugs for you." Felicity bit out. "Come to think of it, neither did I."

Jimmy smirked at her. "For a Bratva wife, you don't seem to remember your place. Maybe your Captain needs to try slapping you around."

Felicity bit down on the inside of her cheek. Her status as Oliver's 'wife' was what had kept her alive after her mom stole Jimmy's meth and Felicity had gone to Oscar to beg for her mom's debt to be cleared. She wasn't even going to engage on Jimmy's comment about Oliver laying a hand on her in violence. "What can I do for you?"

He slid a piece of paper towards her. "Please give this to Oliver. Tell him that Oscar will see him tonight." Jimmy rose from the table, planted another kiss on her cheek and walked out the front door. She watched him get into a town car and she memorized the license plate as it drove off.

Rosie approached the table. "Bubbala, are you okay?"

Felicity reached for the paper Jimmy left on the table, but her hand shook. She placed her hands on the table and clutched them together. If Oscar was in town it meant that he was either calling in his debt or he'd figured out that Oliver was responsible for the interception of all of his illegal goods. Either way, their world was about to get blown apart.

Rosie turned to the bartender. "Handsome. Can I get some brandy, please?" The bartender poured brandy into a snifter and Rosie sat down beside Felicity. "Here, drink this." Rosie pressed the glass into her hands.

Felicity drank it down in one gulp. "Thea?" Felicity turned towards the dining area.

Rosie clasped Felicity's still shaking hands. "She's fine. I told her I was going to go powder my nose. Are you going to tell me what he wants? What kind of mess did Donna involve you in from the grave?"

Felicity picked up the piece of paper. "I need to call Oliver."

"I already did." Rosie nodded to the door as Roy practically sprinted into the restaurant. "Hey, kid." Rosie waved her hand.

Roy was breathless as he approached the table. "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to leave you to it." Rosie stood up and returned to the dining room.

"Did you run here?" Felicity asked with concern. He was nearly as red as his hoodie.

"Oliver called. He said you were in trouble." Roy said as way of explanation.

"Threats been averted for now." Felicity patted his hand in thanks. "How much longer until he gets here?"

Roy grinned. "If Dig's driving, I'm surprised they didn't beat me here."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Let's go join Thea."

As Felicity approached the table she casually said, "Look who I saw walking by."

Roy sat down in the empty chair and eyed everyone's plates. He turned his nose up at Felicity's and Thea's salads, but his eyes lit up at Rosie's chicken parm. "Would you like the rest of it dear? I can't eat another bite."

Roy reached across the table for her plate "Finally. A real woman who eats real food."

"Hey, I eat real food." Felicity said defensively.

Roy took a large bite of the chicken and began to speak as he chewed. "Yeah, but that was before she," pointing at Thea with his fork, "got you all paranoid about baby bump gossip."

Felicity's eyes were drawn to the front of the dining room as she registered a familiar presence. Oliver and Dig were casually scanning the restaurant for threats. When Oliver's eyes met hers, she smiled and put on her best pleasantly surprised voice, "Oliver, what are you doing here?"

Oliver placed a kiss on Thea's and Rosie's cheeks before placing one on hers. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but our meeting with Palmer Technologies got moved up and I thought I'd grab you on my way."

"Ollie," Thea admonished, "she hasn't even finished her lunch."

"That's okay. If I get hungry, Peggy will get me something." Felicity gathered her purse and phone.

"Roy, will you make sure Rosie gets home?" Oliver opened his wallet and placed a hundred dollar bill on the table. "I'm sorry about lunch, ladies. I will make it up to all of you." Oliver put his hand out for Felicity.

She slipped her hand into his and kissed her aunt. "I'll call you later."

"You better," her aunt said with concern in her eyes. Felicity felt guilty for causing her to worry.

Thea stood up and gave Felicity a hug. "We'll finish up talking about the studio and let you know what we decide."

"Sounds like a plan." Felicity smiled at Thea and gave the table a wave, as she mouthed a silent _thank you_ to Roy.

Felicity was still shrugging into her coat as Oliver pushed her out the door and into the double parked Bentley. He waited for Dig to get in before he asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know. One moment we were laughing about old women imitating Miley Cyrus and the next minute Jimmy was standing there." Felicity reached into her purse and pulled out the paper. "He wanted me to give you this and he said Oscar will see you tonight." Oliver unfolded the paper. "It's in Cyrillic, she said. "I might've peaked."

Oliver silently read the paper and then crumpled it between his hands. His jaw flexed and his knuckles turned white. "Where to, boss?" Dig asked from the driver's seat.

"Back to the office." Oliver looked out the window. "Oscar is calling in my debt."

Dig and Felicity's eyes met in the mirror. Neither understood why Oliver would choose to return to QC instead of heading to the lair. She shrugged. Dig tilted his head and they silently agreed that whatever Oliver was planning, they needed to stop him.

Felicity followed Oliver into his office as she dragged a reluctant Diggle behind her. If Oliver was about to do something stupid, she'd need Dig nearby to restrain him long enough for her to stick him with a sedative. What did it say about her that she'd begun to carry a hypodermic needle filled with a sedative with her at all times? She already carried an Epipen for her nut allergy, another needle in her handbag really shouldn't be all that suspicious.

Oliver sighed when he saw Felicity pulling Dig by the arm. "Is this how this works now?" He said gesturing between them. "Tag teaming me?"

"I don't know, Oliver. Why did you come here instead of going to the lair?" Felicity responded after she closed his door.

"I already told you. This is not a matter for the Arrow. I have to take care of this. Besides, we're clearly being followed." Felicity was about to protest when Oliver continued, "We need to stick to our normal routine. I don't want him to think he's flustered me."

Felicity looked to Dig and gave him her wide-eyed, _your turn to talk some sense into the stubborn jackass_ , look. Dig continued where she got cut off. "What's the plan, Oliver?"

Oliver removed his suit jacket and tie and began to roll up his sleeves. "I'm going to meet with Oscar."

"Okay, I'm coming with you." Dig said with finality.

Oliver turned his back on his partners and moved to the window. "Not this time."

"I don't remember asking." Dig responded.

Oliver shook his head. "I appreciate it, but you can't come."

Dig moved closer to Oliver and gentled his voice. "I've backed you up with the Bratva before."

"My position as a Captain wasn't under threat then." He turned to face his friend. "I don't know if I'm in a strong enough position to protect you. Besides, tonight he's just going to tell me who he wants me to kill."

Felicity had remained still as she watched the two most important men in her life have a battle of wills. If Oliver thought Dig's life was in danger, he'd never relent, but Dig wouldn't let Oliver walk into a dangerous fight without back-up either. This fight could go on for the rest of their lives if she let it. "Oh, well, then if that's all, Dig and I are going to go to the movies tonight."

"Felicity." Oliver sounded tired, but she wouldn't give him quarter.

"I'm serious, Oliver. Why don't you go alone to meet with the murdering psychopath who wants you to murder people as he takes over our city and kills people with his tainted goods, drugs, and weapons? Let's not forget all the young women he's trafficking and killing. It makes perfect sense to me. How about you Dig?" Oliver gave Dig his patented, _you're turn to deal with the crazy IT girl_ , look. "Don't you look at him like that. I'm not the one being unreasonable."

Dig raised his hands. "Okay, let's all take a breath. Oliver, I know you think that you have to face this alone, but that's not how this unit of ours works, not anymore."

"This isn't about the Arrow." Oliver growled in frustration.

"No, it's about our family and right now there is a dangerous man who is threatening my family. So, if you think for even a moment that I'm letting you face him alone, think again." If Felicity wasn't afraid she'd spook Oliver, she'd throw her arms around Dig's neck. She could see Oliver's resolve wavering as Dig's eyes bore into him.

Oliver looked from Dig to Felicity and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay."

"You've known this is coming for months. I know you have a plan, let's hear it." Dig folded his arms and leaned against the windows.

Oliver nervously glanced at Felicity. "Would you mind working with Gerry to clear my schedule? I'm also going to need you to take that call with Palmer. Walter will kill me if I push him off again."

Felicity didn't like to be dismissed. If Oliver didn't want her to hear his plan, it meant it wasn't just risky it was probably suicidal. She was about to remind him that she was no longer his EA when Dig shook his head. Dig wanted to talk to Oliver alone so he'd get all of the details and not what he sanitized for her ears. She took a deep breath and plastered on her best put upon girlfriend smile and said, "Of course."

She exited Oliver's office and approached her old desk. "Hi, Gerry. Please pop up Oliver's schedule for me. He has an emergency and we need to do some creative shuffling." She watched Oliver and Dig disappear into the conference room. Not for the first time she thought that she really should have that conference room bugged. "I also need you to send Peggy everything you have for the call with Palmer Technologies."

VVVVV

It had been forty five minutes since Oliver had called to say that his meeting with Oscar was over and that he and Dig were safe and on their way to their separate homes. Felicity wore a track in the rug around the perimeter of their bedroom as she continued to follow the path she'd followed since Oliver had left to meet with Oscar. Normally, when Oliver was out in the field he was the voice in her head and she could follow his every movement through the tracker in his boot, but tonight she was blind and he was silent. He thought it would be too risky to have any type of electronic devices on him lest Oscar believe he was spying on him. Felicity couldn't argue with his logic, but not knowing where he was or if he was in trouble made her feel like she could crawl out of her own skin. She knew from experience that it was adrenaline and even though she knew he was on his way home to her she couldn't turn it off.

As soon as he opened their bedroom door she launched herself at him. His arms immediately banded around her and he nuzzled her neck. "Hey, I'm fine. Everything's fine." She pulled away from him and did her routine assessment of his physical well being. He slowly turned with his arms raised as he'd taken to doing as a way to appease her. "Not even a scratch." She frowned at him as she began to pat his sides as she studied his face for any signs of bruising or broken ribs. She was tempted to ask him to strip so she could make sure he wasn't putting on his stoic face. It wasn't like he hadn't hidden serious injuries from her before. As if reading her mind, he slipped off his jacket and lifted his shirt to the top of his chest and turned again. She did a quick inventory and there wasn't any sign of fresh injury. He dropped his shirt and gently squeezed her arms as he planted a kiss to her forehead. "Would I lie to you?"

She rested her head against his chest and inhaled deeply. His comforting scent washed over her and she could feel the tension she'd been carrying slowly dissipate. "I've been going crazy worrying about you guys. You were radio silent for over three hours."

He ran his fingers through her ponytail. "I'm sorry, Oscar made us wait." He sat down on the edge of their bed and began to undo the laces on his boots. "It was a complete power play and I had to sit there and take it." He said angrily. "It was so much easier when I could kill people."

"Oliver," she admonished. Felicity didn't think he was serious, but there was a guilty part of her that agreed with him. They'd faced a lot of dangerous criminals, including Slade Wilson, but none had her as scared as Oscar Orlov.

He pulled her onto his lap so that her knees were bracketing his hips. "It would solve all of our Bratva problems if I could just put a bullet in Oscar and his lieutenants and just be done with this. No more shoddy building materials, drugs, weapons, sex trafficking or debts." He leaned his forehead against hers. "I don't know how I'm going to get out of this mess."

"Who does he want you to kill?" Oliver laughed and flopped back onto the bed with his arms draped over his head. "Oliver?" He removed his arms from his face and winked at her. She slid off his hips and dropped onto the bed next to him. "You've got to be kidding me?"

He turned his head so he was looking at her and grinned. "My target is one green hooded vigilante with a penchant for archery. Oscar hasn't been pleased with the Arrow interfering with so much of his business. The incident at the bridge was the last straw."

Felicity couldn't help but grin at the absurdity of their situation. "So, not murder but suicide."

He rolled over so his chest was covering hers and their legs tangled over the foot of the bed. "Are you making fun of my very serious situation?"

She bit her lip. "I guess we could stuff your leathers with straw and you can throw the Arrow off the River Street Bridge. Oscar might appreciate the symmetry." Her brow furrowed in concentration. "Although, we need to come up with a cause of death to explain why there isn't a body. We'll need an explosion or a fire, but there will need to be lots of witness. A news crew would be ideal."

He raised up onto his forearms. "Why do I get the feeling that you've been fantasizing about ways to kill the Arrow for years?"

She lifted herself onto her elbows and kissed the tip of his nose. "I wouldn't say fantasize, but I have thought about how we cover our tracks if we are at risk of being discovered. Destroying the lair, your bow and arrows, my computers, the Ducati, the Arrow and Arsenal suits."

A pained look flashed across his face. "Wait, you've thought about destroying the Ducati?"

She kissed his jaw. "So many times."

"I love that bike." Oliver said worriedly.

"I know." She nuzzled his neck.

He grinned. "Are you jealous of a motorcycle?"

She rolled him onto his back and returned to her previous position on his lap and gently rocked against him. "Do I have a reason to be jealous?"

He traced her cheek with his finger and rolled his hips against her. "Never."

Her fingers gripped the waist of his jeans. "Prove it," she moaned softly.

After, they lay tangled together with her head pressed against his chest. She drew lazy circles on his chest and abdomen as he traced patterns along her spine. "Oliver?"

"Hmm?" He asked lazily.

"You can't actually kill yourself, so, what are we going to do about Oscar?"

He sighed. "I told him that the Arrow has been evading the police for years and it might take me a few months to find him. Oscar says I have two months and until it's done I don't get my share of the profits for whatever he runs through Starling." He arched a brow at her.

Felicity snorted at the last caveat. Did Oscar really think a billionaire would care about his share of the illegal merchandise? "We've come up with good plans in less time," she said confidently, "and luckily, you don't need the money."

He grinned and gave her a gentle kiss. "Have I told you today that I love you?"

She laughed. "Not since about a minute ago."

Felicity laughed even harder when Oliver blushed. "Well, it's still true. I love you."

She planted a kiss over his heart and said, "I love you too."

 

VVVVV

It was almost nine o'clock in the evening when Oliver strode into her office and sat in one of the chairs opposite her desk. He placed a piece of paper onto the glass surface and pushed it towards her. "Pick one."

She could tell by the look on his face that whatever was on the paper displeased him. She unfolded the paper and was surprised to see that it contained a list of the most exclusive restaurants in Starling. "Why?"

He huffed to show how annoying he found the conversation. "For Valentine's Day."

She did her best to keep a smile from her face. "Wow, Oliver. Our first Valentine's Day together and you are clearly looking forward to it. I don't know if I'll survive the romance of it all." She batted her eyelashes at him.

His eyes widened in surprise. "It's not, I, Felicity, I," he shook his head as if the motion would get the words to come together to form a coherent sentence. "Of course I want to spend Valentine's Day with you. I want to spend every day with you, but I wouldn't take you to any of those places."

The wounded puppy dog look on his face made her decide to show him mercy. She picked up another piece of paper and walked around her desk. She leaned on the edge in front of his chair and handed him the paper. He opened it and smirked. "Looks like our PR team has decided we've avoided dinner in the spotlight long enough." Mike from their PR team had stopped by during lunch to let her know a reservation had been made at every restaurant on the list. They just needed to decide where they wanted to go and the PR team would make sure the paparazzi were tipped off.

"Felicity, I'm sorry." Oliver took her hands in his. "I'm sure posing for the cameras is the last thing you want to do on Valentine's Day."

She smiled. "It's okay, Oliver." He didn't look like he believed her so she squeezed his hands. "It's a manufactured commercial holiday so it only makes sense that we celebrate it in a manufactured commercial way. We'll eat some yummy, but overpriced food, drink some very, very, very expensive red wine and then pose for some pictures where we hold hands, gaze at one another adoringly, maybe a kiss on the cheek and then you can glower at the reporters who ask us when we're getting married or if I'm pregnant. We can make it an annual tradition."

"I don't like sharing any part of us with them."

"Listen, we won't ever share anything real with them. We'll keep birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations and anything else we're lucky enough to celebrate together as something for us and the people that we love. Let them have Valentine's Day because that is all they'll get. We can wear our masks for them one night a year."

"They won't be satisfied with one day a year. They think that they're entitled to everything."

"I know, but it doesn't mean we have to give it them. We control what they get, make them think they are capturing something intimate and special and they'll leave us alone."

"When did you get so Zen about this?"

"Thea's been an excellent mentor."

He pulled her onto his lap. "Just exactly whose weddings, anniversaries and graduations were you referring to?"

She smiled innocently at him. "Well, as much as Dig denies it, I think he and Lyla are going to be married before the year is over. Roy started college last month."

"I think the Digglet might graduate from kindergarten before Roy does college."

She smacked his chest. "Hey, don't be mean. Roy is going to graduate. He's doing really well, so far."

"So you weren't thinking about our kids?" He asked sheepishly.

When she'd made her list of life moments that she wouldn't want to share with the public she had been thinking of her extended family, the Diggles and the Harpers and the Lances and yes, the Queens. Children of her own had always been an abstract. Nice in theory but not very practical. Add Oliver Queen and the Arrow to the mix and she thought that children would have to remain an abstract. She wasn't sure if she wanted to examine too closely if she wanted children if it was something she could never have with Oliver. She also didn't want to have such a serious conversation at the office. "I don't know, you Queen kids don't have the best track record with graduations," she teased.

He clutched his chest. "Ouch, now who's being mean?"

Felicity placed a kiss to his temple. "You've done all right for yourself without that piece of paper."

He sat quietly, lost to his thoughts. Felicity waited patiently because she knew he was trying to find the right words and the courage to ask whatever was rattling around in his head. After a few minutes, he tightened his grip on her waist. "Felicity, do you want to have kids?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

"Before you met me, did you ever think about wanting a family?"

"Sure, when I was little I fantasized about having a family when I played with my dolls, but when I got older I realized that I wanted more out of life than being single mom struggling to make ends meet as a cocktail waitress. I was going to go to M.I.T. and nothing was going to get in my way. I guess for as long as I've been aware of what a responsibility kids are I've seen them as an obstacle."

"And now?"

"It might seem silly, but even though I have two masters degrees and I'm working in this amazing job that I love, I still fear I'm going to wake up and it's all been a mistake or a dream. That I'll have to go back to my old life in Vegas and scrape by."

Oliver tilted her chin so she was looking him in the eye. "Hey, that's never going to happen. You earned your degrees and your position within this company. You'll always find a way to land on your feet. If anyone should worry about losing everything and having to scrape by, it should be me. You, on the other hand, are the most capable person I've ever known."

She planted a chaste kiss on his lips. "You're the first real relationship I've had since college. I honestly really haven't thought about kids." She tried to read his face, but his expression was inscrutable. "Do you want to have kids?"

"If you asked me six months ago, my answer would've been a firm no, but now, I don't know."

"Is that a maybe?"

"I want whatever will make you happy. If you want children, then I'll figure it out and we'll have children."

"Oliver, we should only have kids if it is something we both want, not something we do to make the other happy."

He absently rubbed the ruffle of her peplum dress between his fingers as he was, once again, lost in thought. "Before the Gambit, I got a girl pregnant."

"Laurel?" Felicity asked in disbelief. "Sara?"

He shook his head. "No, her name was Sandy and we spent one night together. She was sweet and innocent and I used my charm to seduce her. I was with Laurel at the time."

"What happened?"

His eyes welled with tears. "I was so scared when she told me. I thought my life was over. I knew my dad would have a melt down and it would hurt Laurel, but mostly I kept asking, why me?" He snorted in disgust. "Not once did it hit me that it was happening because I was careless and thoughtless. I didn't think about how I'd helped to blow up Sandy's life. I thought I was the victim. I went running to my mom hoping she'd make it disappear, like she did every other careless mistake."

The look on his face and Moira's possible involvement made her dread to ask her next question. "Oliver, what happened to the baby?"

He rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. "She had a miscarriage. I surprised myself, because I was sad when she told me, but mostly I was relieved. I never called her again to see if she was okay and I didn't learn anything from it, because a few weeks later I got on the Gambit with Sara. The baby would be seven now. What kind of monster doesn't grieve for the loss of their child?"

The look on his face brought tears to her own eyes. "Oh, Oliver. Even if you didn't grieve for the baby then, you're grieving now. You were just young and afraid. You weren't a monster."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, there was no sign of his grief. "I'm a selfish man. I always have been." He put a finger to her lips when she started to protest. "Before the island I was selfish about my own needs and desires. Nothing was more important than getting laid or chasing the next high. When I was gone, it was about surviving. I did whatever it took to stay alive. Now, I jump off of roofs wearing a mask."

"How does being the Arrow make you selfish? It seems pretty selfless to me."

"What drives me to wear the mask, to be the vigilante, that's what makes me selfish." Oliver rested his head against her temple. "I know that you're afraid every time I put on the hood and step out the door, but I do it anyway. I love you more than anything, but I still walk out that door knowing you're afraid for me, because I can't not put the mask on. In a way it's like an addiction and that makes me a selfish bastard."

"You give parts of yourself away so others don't have to. That's not selfish, I don't see it that way."

"I know you don't, but part of the reason why I thought we could never be together was because I knew even with how I felt about you, I wasn't ready to hang up the mask. You've made your choice to love me despite the risks. You know there isn't any guarantee when I leave each night. How can I ask our children to accept those risks? One of these days, I'm going to die wearing my mask. That isn't any kind of legacy for you or our children. With all of their faults, my parents still taught me that the essence of being a parent is selflessness. I'm too selfish to be anyone's father."

She expected him to say that he couldn't be a father because he was a killer who had tortured people and that he suffered from PTSD. She hadn't expected him to say that he didn't think he could walk away from being the Arrow. He was right, every time he left the lair she was afraid for him, but she never thought he would die in his mask. Of course his death was a possibility, but she let him go out each time because in her heart she never doubted he would come back to her. Her faith in him and his abilities has been unwavering. She always thought that he'd retire by the time he was thirty five, forty at the latest. He might not want to stop, but his body would force him to. A seed of fear planted itself into her brain as she realized that she was going to have to find a way to keep letting him put on the mask knowing that he believed that one night he wouldn't come home to her. She had a father who left her. Could she bring a child into the world whose father didn't plan on living long enough to raise it? She took a deep breath. They weren't even engaged, there was no need to freak out about hypothetical children tonight. "The only thing we need to decide on tonight is Italian or Japanese?" She held up the paper with the list of restaurants.

He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I believe you said something about a bottle of very, very, very expensive red wine."

"Italian it is."

VVVVV

Felicity groaned at the early morning sunlight streaming through their bedroom window. She absently reached towards Oliver's side of the bed to discover he was missing. Retrieving her glasses from the nightstand she discovered that it was just after 8:00am and that Oliver had left her a large glass of water and two Tylenol. She gingerly lifted herself into a sitting position and gratefully swallowed the two tablets and water. Oliver had been true to his word and ordered a very, very, very expensive bottle of red for their staged Valentine's Day date. Unfortunately, based on how her head felt, she might've consumed the whole bottle on her own. She looked around the nightstand for a note from Oliver and became a little worried when she didn't see one. He usually didn't disappear on Sunday mornings without telling her his whereabouts or his estimated time of return. Realizing he probably wasn't sporting a red wine hangover and had probably been awake for hours, she assumed he'd probably gone for a run. Deciding a hot shower would help clear her head, she hauled herself from her comfortable bed.

She shuffled into the bathroom and recoiled at her appearance. Black mascara circles ringed her eyes and her hair was a wild tangle of curls and frizz. Instead of the sexy negligee she'd purchased for Valentine's night, she was wearing an old M.I.T. t-shirt with a tomato sauce stain and threadbare pajama bottoms covered in ice skating penguins. Felicity laughed at her reflection and what the paparazzi from the night before would pay to see how the woman who seduced Oliver Queen dressed for bed. If she didn't believe Oliver loved her before, she didn't have any doubts now. It took real love to wake up to someone who looked as wrecked as she did and not run for the hills. Of course, she'd woken up alone, but she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with her hangover look. After she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, scrubbed the residual make-up from her face and brushed her teeth she began to feel a little more clear headed. The sound of their bedroom door opening had her peaking her head out from their bathroom.

Felicity smiled as she watched Oliver balance a tray on one arm as he quietly shut their bedroom door. He hadn't realized that Felicity wasn't hidden beneath the mounds of rumpled bedding. He moved around to her side of the bed and gently lowered the blankets. A giggle escaped her lips at his disappointed expression. His head followed the sound of her laugh and a huge smile broke across his face. "I was hoping to wake you with a large romantic gesture." He lowered the tray of food to the foot of the bed.

Despite her headache, she practically skipped to his side and stood on her tip toes in order to drape her arms around his neck and press a kiss to his lips. "I thought the glass of water and Tylenol were a very nice romantic gesture."

Oliver huffed a laugh against her neck. "You really weren't feeling any pain last night. How are you this morning?"

"I need to remember that you only pretend to drink and I really should only order by the glass." Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted. "Before you say that I didn't have to drink the whole bottle, I'll just remind you that that bottle of wine cost more than two months rent on my old apartment and I don't waste wine or money."

"I appreciate your thrift." He pulled the covers back on their bed. "Now back to bed so I can give my girlfriend her breakfast."

Felicity arranged her pillows so she could sit propped up against the headboard. Oliver placed the breakfast tray over her lap and she clapped happily when he lifted the silver dome from her plate to reveal her meal. Oliver obliged when she tilted her head back and puckered her lips for a kiss. "You made this yourself." She declared with pride.

He snagged a piece of toast from her plate and circled to his side of the bed. "What gave me away?" He asked with a grin.

She looked at her plate and her heart leapt with happiness. Some of the toast was slightly charred and the omelet looked more like scrambled eggs, but he'd woken up early to make her breakfast, so it was perfect and she wouldn't voice any faults with his efforts. Instead, she held up the sugar bowl. "Raisa would never limit me to only four cubes."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Thank you for not remarking on the burnt toast."

They drank coffee and ate breakfast in contented silence with occasional pauses for longing looks, gentle caresses and loving kisses. When they were done, Oliver lifted the tray and placed it on the floor. He opened his nightstand and withdrew an envelope. With a shy smile, he handed it to her. "Oliver, we agreed, no Valentine's gifts," she admonished.

"It the day after." He said coyly. "I thought that if Valentine's Day was going to belong to the media, we could have the day after for us."

"If the world only knew what a romantic softie the Arrow is, your reputation would be completely ruined." Felicity's smile was so wide her face ached. She didn't know all of Oliver's secrets but she knew the most important one. There was nothing he wouldn't do for the people he loved and when he loved you, you knew it. She tore open the envelope and unfolded a letter with a M.I.T. letterhead. Her brow furrowed in confusion and she had to read the letter three times to absorb what it said. She was overcome with emotion and her eyes welled with tears. "Oliver," she exhaled his name on a sigh.

He scooted across the bed to get closer to her. "Hey, please don't cry."

She laughed. "These are happy tears. I can't believe you did this." She held up the letter with one hand and scrubbed away tears with the other. The letter was to confirm the establishment of the Felicity Smoak scholarship. The scholarship would be provided annually to two incoming female first year students with a full four year scholarship and stipend. The scholarship would be awarded based on need and merit.

"I want every young Felicity Smoak that's out in the world to be able to realize their potential and to know what it feels like to have the original Felicity Smoak believe in them." He swallowed heavily. "It's a pretty amazing feeling, I should know."

Felicity launched herself at Oliver, knocking him flat on his back. She began to pepper his face with soft kisses. "I love you, Oliver Queen."

He flipped them so she was on her back gazing up into his bright blue eyes. "I love you, so much."

He pressed his forehead to hers and they stared into each other's eyes sharing all the feelings they didn't need to communicate through words. Felicity lifted her head to hungrily capture his lips and she became lost to the feeling of being loved by Oliver. Felicity eagerly pulled on his t-shirt and he quickly sat back on his knees to pull the shirt over his head. As he moved to return to his prior position her hands flew up to his chest. "Wait, wait, wait." She tried to roll onto her stomach, but Oliver was situated between her legs and she began to awkwardly flail and nearly toppled from their bed. It was only Oliver's super quick reflexes that spared her the embarrassment of face planting on the floor. With Oliver's arms banded around her waist, she grabbed her tablet from the nightstand triumphantly. "I've got something for you too."

He shifted her so she was seated between his legs with her back pressed against his chest. He placed a kiss onto her industrial piercing. "I thought we said no presents."

Felicity unlocked her tablet and her fingers busily opened some files that revealed code that began to scroll across her screen. "I've been working on this for awhile. The idea has actually been rolling around in my head since college but I never did anything with it. After I met you, I finally started to tackle the idea and I finally made significant progress over the summer. If you didn't get QC back, I thought I could sell it to help fund the team and well, us. When you got QC back, I was going to give it to you then, but it wasn't ready. I think it's ready now."

Oliver rested his chin on her shoulder. "I have no idea what I'm looking at." As usual whenever he listened to her talk about her work there was an element of awe. It made Felicity happy to know that Oliver was proud of her accomplishments and wasn't threatened by her intelligence or her abilities.

Felicity put the tablet down and turned to face him. She hooked her legs over his thighs and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's going to secure you're legacy as the rightful CEO of QC and make the company billions of dollars."

VVVVV

Felicity wrapped her coat tighter around herself as she stood in the shadows that were creeping into the alley behind the abandoned movie theater. A heavy mist hung in the air and she could feel her hair frizzing around her face. She'd volunteered to pick up dinner for the team, but she was making a small detour to meet with the Question. Earlier in the day a messenger had delivered a letter to her office that requested a meeting to discuss their investigation into the faulty construction materials. She was starting to question the wisdom of agreeing to meet with the faceless man who frequently popped up uninvited during the Arrow's missions without telling Oliver first. If he found out she was meeting the Question without back-up he'd be furious with her. Remembering their fight in Vegas and her promise to not keep things from him when it impacted her safety, she decided to skip the meeting and just pick up their dinner. She stepped around some trash as she made her way back to the street when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She could feel someone watching her and she began to sink back into the shadows of the alley. She let out a sigh of relief when the familiar outline of the Question's fedora appeared before her. "I'd prefer it if we met in less sinister locations with more daylight and less trash."

"I think my appearance would draw too much attention outside of darkened alleyways." He stepped closer to her, but she instinctively drew away from him until her back collided with the brick wall of the theater. "You're shivering." His voice sounded concerned, even through the distortion of the voice synthesizer. "I'll be brief." He reached into his coat and pulled out a thumb drive. "I doubt your surveillance of Ketchel Construction has revealed anything." He paused, but Felicity wasn't going to confirm or deny that their surveillance had been fruitful. When he realized she wasn't going to offer anything, he continued, "I've been following a low level enforcer for the Triad and stumbled upon a meeting."

"What kind of meeting?" Her curiosity was peaked. He wouldn't have requested the meeting if he didn't have something interesting to share.

He took a step towards her. "A meeting between the Triad, the Bratva, Starling City's chief building inspector and arson investigator and the heads of some of the city's largest construction firms." He pressed the thumb drive into her hand.

His now familiar smell of chemicals, cologne and cigarettes washed over Felicity even as he backed away from her. She stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Why are you giving this to me? Why are you helping us?"

He gently withdrew his arm from her grasp. "I just investigate. Your green friend is the man of action. I hope it helps."

Felicity watched as the Question disappeared into the darkness. She waited a few minutes before she made her way out of the alley and back onto the street. A quick look at her cell revealed she wasn't behind schedule and she had plenty of time to pick up the Dim Sum without raising suspicions. She returned her phone to her coat pocket and when she looked up she stopped short when she saw the familiar silhouette leaning against her car. She cursed under her breath. Of course he followed her.

Felicity approached the Arrow whose legs were casually crossed in front of him as he leaned against the passenger door. His head was down and his arms were folded across his chest. His compound bow was laying on the roof of the car. As casual as his stance was, she could feel the tension radiating off of him. "Couldn't wait for dumplings?" She asked lightly even as she braced herself for his inevitable explosion.

Oliver allowed the silence to extend between them and Felicity did her best not to squirm. "Should I be worried?" He asked softly. Felicity's brow furrowed in confusion. "Are you interviewing for a new vigilante?"

Felicity sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God, you're not mad."

Oliver stood to his full height and stepped into her personal space. His mask did nothing to hide the anger in his eyes. "Oh, I'm mad."

"Oliver," she whispered firmly.

He placed his hands on her shoulders in a gesture he used to reassure himself that she was safe. "Felicity, we're definitely going to have a fight about this, but not on the street. I'll see you back at the base."

Felicity picked up their dinner and made her way slowly back to the lair. She spotted Oliver on his Ducati several times as she traversed the streets of the Glades. She knew he was furious and he had every right to be furious, but she didn't think the Question was at all dangerous, at least not to her. She never would've agreed to the meeting if she'd been at all afraid for her safety.

Felicity's feet were slow and heavy on the stairs. Every step increased her level of dread. She wasn't afraid of Oliver, she just hated fighting with him. Before they were together, she never really cared if her actions made him angry. He was stubborn, but so was she and she wasn't going to let him dictate her choices. But now that they were together, things had shifted. She still wasn't going to let him dictate her choices, but she was more sensitive to his concerns, especially about her safety. Now that the lines between the professional and personal had blurred completely , she felt like she was on shaky ground whenever they disagreed. Who was she fighting with, her boyfriend or her crime fighting partner? Yes, they were the same man, but it was sometimes confusing and always complicated when they tried to navigate disagreements that were Arrow related. When she realized the whole team was present, she sighed in relief. If Oliver hadn't sent Dig and Roy away it meant he didn't plan on having the fight until they got home. She'd have enough time to make her case and diffuse his temper. "Who's hungry for dumplings?" She asked brightly.

Oliver stood with his back to her as he removed his quiver and jacket. Roy took the bag from her and offered her a sympathetic look before he scurried away with their dinner. _So much for being a tough-ass vigilante_ , she thought to herself. She turned towards her desk when she collided with the massive chest of Diggle. The smile slipped from her face when she saw the angry scowl on his face. "Crap."

"Do you want to tell me what the hell you were thinking tonight?" Dig's voice was soft but it was full of fury.

Felicity looked to Oliver whose back remained turned to her. "Now, who's tag teaming?"

Dig stepped into her line of sight. "You went off to meet someone without telling any of us where you were going or who you were meeting with." Dig's voice had gotten louder and angrier. "I already have to deal with two hotheads, this team doesn't need a third."

"You're yelling at me?" She asked in disbelief. Their team didn't operate like this. If someone screwed up on Team Arrow, Oliver was the one who dished out the dress down. She and John were always a united front. They never disagreed in front of Oliver or Roy, never. On the rare occasions when they had a difference of opinion, they'd discuss it over burgers or a cup of coffee until they reached an agreement.

"Now that you and Oliver are dating, we decided that it would be better for your personal relationship and this team's working relationship if I had these types of discussions with you from now on." Dig said calmly.

Felicity nodded her head as she shrugged out of her coat. She took the Question's thumb drive from her pocket and inserted it into her computer. If it wasn't bad enough that Oliver thought he could make choices for her, now Dig thought he could too. "Anything else you guys decided without me?"

"No, that's it," John said dryly, "and you don't get to change the subject."

Oliver turned around and was intently watching her reaction. Felicity felt a small level of satisfaction from the worried look on his face and the way he was nervously rubbing his fingers together. He knew that this was a big decision to make without her input. He was worried that he'd miscalculated by allowing John to take the lead. She was more than a little annoyed with both of them, but she also knew that when it came to her safety they had a zero tolerance level. "The Question hasn't given us any reason to think he's dangerous. I believe he wants to help. I didn't want you guys to spook him."

Dig nodded his head as he thought about what he was going to say. "Next time, you tell us when you're taking a clandestine meeting. You should always have back-up. This is non-negotiable."

"I had back-up." Felicity mumbled.

"That's only because you were behaving strangely." Oliver finally broke his silence with a sentence that started out in his loud voice but finished gently at a look from Dig.

Felicity knew she wasn't a great liar, but she was way better with her excuses than Oliver. "Strangely?"

"It's raining," Roy said around a mouthful of lo mein.

"Raining?" She asked.

"You never volunteer to go out when it's raining. You know, your," he pointed a chopstick at her head and drew a circle in the air, "hair."

Felicity touched her head and could feel that her once smooth ponytail was a frizzy mess. Roy was right. She always begged off going on the food runs if it was raining and she did use her hair as a lame excuse. It rained a lot in Starling, so it was an excuse that got a frequent workout. "I guess I need to work on my predictability."

Oliver approached her cautiously. "Promise that you won't do anything like this again. We can't protect you if we don't know where you are."

She looked at the three men who were looking at her with varying degrees of love and affection and she felt guilty for making them worry. "Okay, I promise." Turning to Dig she asked, "Does this mean when the Arrow does something harebrained I get to tell you to yell at him?"

"Hell no," Dig responded. "I already told him, if you're pissed off with him, he's on his own."

Felicity smiled sweetly at Dig."May I eat my dumplings now?"

Dig gave a dramatic sweep of his arm towards the table Roy had placed the food. "By all means, but I'm taking some dumplings before you take all of them."

Dig and Roy headed towards the table and Felicity moved to follow. Oliver put a hand out to stop her. "Are we okay?" He asked so only she could hear.

The worried look on his face erased whatever remaining anger she had. He was struggling just as much as she was with the change in their dynamic. "You're allowed to get angry with me."

"I was only angry because you scared me. What if he was luring you out to hurt you or take you and I hadn't been there?" His hands landed gently on her shoulders. "Felicity, you're everything to me."

Felicity stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "You're everything to me too."

Oliver wrapped his arms around her waist. "I kind of miss the frizzy ponytails."

She laughed as she thought of their first year working together in the damp foundry basement. "I suppose you miss the cardigans too."

"You'd be surprised," he teased with a wink.

They pulled apart when Dig approached with a container of dumplings for her. "Want to show us what the Faceless Wonder gave you?"

Felicity took her dumplings and placed them on her desk. She gave Oliver a warning glare when he picked a dumpling from the container and popped it into his mouth. "He said he recorded a meeting between the Bratva, the Triad, some construction contractors and two of Starling City's finest employees, Roger Alsop and David McClaran."

Oliver groaned. "We need to press Lance and Laurel on Alsop and McClaran. We've given them more than enough to get them out of office if not to put them in jail."

She patted his arm. "We've given them the roadmap. It just takes them more time to follow the rules to gather the evidence in admissible ways. We're going to get them."

Oliver, Dig and Roy all pulled up a chair and they watched the video recording as they ate their dinner. The video was nearly twenty minutes long and provided Felicity enough information to begin searching banking accounts and shipping manifests. She started her searches even as the recording continued. There had been one unexpected surprise on the video that caused Oliver to go rigid. They all sat in silence for a few moments after the screen went to black. "Please, don't say it." Oliver asked stiffly.

Felicity opened and closed her mouth, but Dig didn't show such restraint. "Don't say what? How another one of your ex-girlfriends is involved in a criminal enterprise?"

Oliver glared at Dig and Felicity had to cover her mouth to stifle a giggle. "Amy Abbott and I dated for like three months in college ten years ago. You make it sound like every woman I date is a criminal."

"Technically," Roy smirked, "the woman you're dating now is a criminal."

"Hey, I resemble that remark." Felicity said good naturedly. The scowl on Oliver's face was adorable. "Come on, Oliver. It's a little funny."

"I'm sorry if I don't find you going to jail for the rest of your life because of me funny."

"Let's get a check on that ego, mister. If I go to jail it will be because of my own actions. I'm confident that my crimes will get me more jail time than yours will get you. Rich people hardly ever go to jail. Plus, you have the whole PTSD defense going for you. I'm pretty sure me pleading for leniency because I fell under the spell of the prettiest blue eyes and sweetest dimples I ever saw won't get my sentenced reduced."

Roy's shoulders shook in silent laughter. "More like his abs."

Oliver ignored Roy. "PTSD? You've been thinking about my defense?"

Felicity took another dumpling from the container. "When I think about destroying the Ducati, I also think about your defense. I think PTSD is a pretty strong argument to make on your behalf." She popped the dumpling into her mouth.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her before he broke into a big grin. "I really thought I'd have your sympathy for a lot longer."

She wasn't sure when it had happened, but somewhere along the way Felicity and Oliver had found a way to talk about his five years in hell and their current outlaw enterprise with irreverent humor. She knew that nothing funny happened in the time that he was gone. His naked flesh was a daily reminder to her of all he endured and how easily he could have died from any one of his wounds and never have returned home and how she'd be missing a piece of her heart and never know it. Oliver didn't want her pity and he feared the truth would lead to her rejection, but slowly he was revealing things about his time away. Her teasing him that she didn't find those five years a convenient excuse for his present behavior somehow made it easier for him to open himself up to her. Humor helped to keep some of the horror of the past and fear of an unknown future at bay. "I know. Five years where nothing good happened should really get you more sympathy from me, but at least it gives you a strong PTSD defense."

Roy stood from his chair and clapped a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Ow. That's cold man."

Oliver leaned over and stole a kiss and a dumpling for her. "It should at least get me another dumpling."

"What's our plan to deal with this new intel?" Dig asked, pointedly ignoring his partners' banter.

"It gave me more money trails to follow." Felicity said as she checked on one of her new searches.

"We also have some new candidates for bugs." Roy stated.

"We can even place some bugs with a little flirty flirt." Felicity said to Oliver with a wink. "I'm pretty sure one Amy Abbott would like to reconnect with Oliver Queen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed.
> 
> Up Next: Negotiations in a bubble bath.


	6. March

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver need to find a way to deal with Amy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay in updating this chapter. I debated back and forth on something and just couldn't make up my mind. I appreciate everyone's patience.
> 
> The comments have been declining for this story, so I truly appreciate all of my loyal readers who continue to send me such wonderful feedback. Like A Bird, thank you for checking in to let me know you are awaiting this update. It is nice to know that my stories are enjoyed.
> 
> The end of the season is also making it tough to channel my happy Oliver and Felicity.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

"No." Oliver said as he pulled off his tie and disappeared into their walk-in closet. "I won't do it, so stop asking."

Felicity followed him into the closet and watched him get undressed. Normally, a disrobing Oliver had her full attention, but she couldn't afford to be distracted. There was too much on the line and she needed him to agree. "Oliver, we need the information and this is the best way to do it."

He pulled off his pants and placed them in the basket for dry cleaning. "Find another way."

"I can't find another way to get in. I've tried. Trust me, I've honestly tried." She removed her heels and placed them on a shelf in what Oliver referred to as her, shoe vault.

"You're asking me to have an affair with one of my ex-girlfriends." He held out his arms for her to remove his cufflinks. By the time she put his cuff links away his shirt had joined his pants in the hamper.

"Technically, I'm asking you to go out to dinner, flirt and put a device on her phone. None of which constitutes an affair." Oliver rolled his eyes and walked past her into their bathroom wearing just his boxer briefs. He began to run the water for a bath before turning to Felicity. He drew her closer to him by tugging her shirt out of her skirt. He began to unbutton her blouse as she continued to talk."If you were to have sex with her, that would constitute an affair and, for the record, I would not be okay with that."

"Yes, I know, you'll cut off my penis." He said as he slid her shirt from her shoulders and placed it on the counter.

"What?" Felicity asked in disbelief.

He stood behind her and unzipped her skirt. "Laurel told me about your conversation New Year's Eve. That she should've cut off my penis while we were dating."

Felicity stepped out of her skirt and turned to face him. "Does it help if I say that I'm really glad that she didn't?"

He unhooked her bra and slid it off her arms. "A little." He gathered up her skirt, bra and blouse before pointing at her panties. She raised her eyebrows but she removed them and threw them at him. He disappeared back into their closet.

Felicity tested the temperature of the water and added a generous scoop of her favorite bath salts. Oliver would have to deal with smelling like lavender. Their bathtub was probably only second to her closet as the thing she loved most about living at the Queen mansion. She spent as much time in it as she could, preferably with Oliver. He returned from the closet without his boxer briefs. She laughed as he turned some music on in an attempt to keep her from pursuing their conversation. He arched a brow at her and she watched as he began to light the candles she kept around the tub. She removed her glasses and her hair elastic and approached him. "Amy is up to something with the Bratva and she might be able to give us what we need to take down Oscar."

"Please, Felicity. We're both naked and I really don't want to talk about Amy Abbott or Oscar. It's our first night off in three weeks and I'd really like to get into this tub with you so we can get out of this tub so I can make love with you. Okay?"

She nodded and took the hand he offered to assist her to step into the tub. Before she could sink into the water, she had to try one last time. "I just don't understand why,"

"Damn it, Felicity." He barked as he turned off the lights. "What if someone takes a picture of me out flirting with Amy? What if that picture ends up in the tabloids? For the rest of our lives, I will have cheated on you. When we get engaged, when we get married, if we have kids, our anniversaries, anything they write about us, hell even our obituaries they will always frame our relationship with my infidelity. Please, don't ask me to do that to us." He was pleading with her and in the candlelight she could see his eyes glisten with unshed tears.

His words sliced into her and she could feel the pain she'd caused him. There were no sham affairs in their world. They had the media's undivided attention and she had thoughtlessly asked him to provide them with ammunition that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Life with Oliver meant life lived in a fish bowl. Someone would always be watching and every private and public act would be there to be scrutinized by a merciless press and an insatiable public. She reached for him. "Okay, Oliver. I'm sorry. We'll find another way." She watched him relax as he nodded his head in thanks.

He stepped into the tub and they lowered themselves into the hot fragrant water. Felicity turned off the faucets before she settled against Oliver's chest. The water, soft music and scent of lavender soon had the tension leaving her muscles and she could feel it easing from Oliver as well. He was right, they needed a break and some time alone without any of their Arrow and Bratva problems invading their time off. Starling City, Amy Abbott and Oscar could wait for their attention for one more night. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and he pressed a kiss into her temple and said, "I love you."

She turned her head and kissed the underside of his jaw. "I love you." She closed her eyes and tried not to think about Oliver saying, when they get married, not if.

VVVVV

"I honestly don't know," Felicity gasped for air, "how they live on the sixth floor of a building without an elevator." As she stepped onto the landing she leaned slightly over her knees. "I mean, how do they get a baby and a carriage up these stairs?" She stood straight and moved the large heavy bag she was carrying from one hand to the other. She winced as she flexed the fingers that had been holding the bag's handle in an attempt to return circulation. "You need to give Dig a raise so he can buy a house or an apartment in an elevator building."

Oliver stepped around her and began to walk towards Diggle's apartment. "It's good cardio."

Felicity's heels clicked after him. "I can't believe you refused to carry this for me. So much for chivalry."

Oliver shook his head. "I'm not encouraging you in this delusion and I'm not carrying it back down when we leave either."

"It's not a delusion. Why do you think they invited us to dinner?" She slipped her arm through his.

"Because you complained that the team never does normal things together." He winked at her as he brought his hand up to knock on Dig's front door.

Felicity grabbed his bicep. "I'm willing to bet you that they invited us to dinner to tell us that they're engaged."

"A bet?" He grinned. "What are the stakes?"

She had no doubt she'd win this bet. John had been acting strange for the past two weeks. He'd been distracted and a bit anxious. Every time she confronted him about it, he evaded her question and changed the subject. Two nights ago, she examined his browser history in the lair and discovered John had been spending time looking at engagement rings. Was it an invasion of his privacy? Probably. But, he shouldn't keep secrets or make her worry. Besides, she'd been nagging Oliver and Diggle from almost the moment she met them about the importance of clearing their browser histories. Since she'd already won, she was going to make the stakes worth it. "If I win, you launch a QC satellite for my exclusive use."

Oliver laughed. "And if I win?"

She could bet him anything and it wouldn't matter, but she couldn't make it seem like she knew she was going to win. It had to be believable. "If you win, I will do your lair cleaning chores for the next month." She could see his eyes widen with the offer. Oliver was way too easy to read. He was definitely tempted because his chores included cleaning the nasty bathroom that always stayed dingy and gross, no matter how much bleach they used or how hard they scrubbed. It was another reason she really hated their new lair. She never thought she'd miss the dampness or the chill of the Foundry.

He leaned over and kissed her chastely. "No deal."

"What?" She asked in complete disbelief.

"I've learned to never make bets with girls who grew up in Vegas. They never seem to go my way." Oliver knocked on the door.

Before Felicity could respond, Dig opened the door with a giggling Sara in his arms. "Hey you two, come on in." He stepped back and opened the door further in greeting. As Felicity entered half carrying, half dragging the large bag, he asked, "What's that?"

Oliver clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Felicity rolled her eyes as she put the bag down by the door. She reached out her arms towards Dig with grabby hands. "Hand me that baby."

"She's all yours." He deposited his daughter into Felicity's arms. "Drink?" Felicity made to open her mouth, but she was interrupted. "I know, red for you. How about you? Beer?"

"Water is good." Oliver said as he squeezed the hand Sara extended to him.

Felicity watched Dig disappear into the kitchen. "Tell Oliver, that I'm right and that your daddy finally asked your mommy to marry him." Sara's eyes studied Felicity's face and she began to clap her hands along with Felicity's sing song voice. Felicity turned her face to Oliver in triumph. "See."

"I'm not accepting confirmation of your wild theory from a six month old."

"Sara, can you say, Oliver is a sore loser?" Felicity pressed a kiss to the baby's forehead and couldn't help but laugh when Sara reached for Oliver. "She has a thing for handsome men. I can't wait to see what Dig's like when she's a teenager and she discovers boys for real." She passed Sara to Oliver and accepted a glass of red from Diggle who'd stealthily reappeared with their drinks.

At the same time the two men said.

"That's what I have a glock for."

"That's what I have arrows for."

Sara let out a squeal of delight as she patted Oliver's stubble and he gently rubbed his face along hers. The little girl absolutely loved his beard and it made Felicity go absolutely squishy inside when she saw how Oliver lit up every time Sara let out a peal of laughter. "I'm sorry Sara, between your dad, Oliver and Roy, I don't think you'll date until college." Felicity laughed as both Dig and Oliver shot her matching scowls.

"It's time for this one to go to sleep." Dig nodded towards the nursery.

Felicity watched the two men disappear into Sara's bedroom before joining Lyla in the kitchen. "Anything I can do to help?"

"What was all the laughing about?" Lyla asked as she handed Felicity a large bowl of salad.

"I just realized that poor Sara is never going to be able to date like a normal teenager. Her mom's an ARGUS agent, her dad is retired special forces, two honorary uncles who are vigilantes and an auntie who can ruin any boy's life with a line of code. Some poor boy will take one look at Dig's and Oliver's arms and he'll run screaming for the hills." Felicity popped a grape tomato into her mouth. She could easily picture Oliver and Diggle greeting Sara's date in shirts that emphasized their biceps as Dig cleaned his glock and Oliver sharpened a knife.

Lyla looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is it wrong that I take comfort in that?"

Both women burst into laughter as Felicity moved to put the salad on the dining room table. As she helped Lyla put the finishing touches on their meal and set the table, she observed her friend for any change in behavior. She wasn't wearing an engagement ring, but that didn't mean anything. Maybe Dig didn't get the right size. Lyla wasn't acting like she was keeping a secret but she was an ARGUS agent and keeping secrets was her default. Felicity was still convinced that John and Lyla had decided to remarry. She might not be able to read Lyla, but she knew when Dig was keeping something from her and there was the small matter of his browser history.

The four of them had a relaxing meal together. They didn't talk about Arrow or ARGUS business. For once, Felicity felt like a normal girl out with a normal boy on a double date with their normal friends. If three of the four people knew how to kill a man one hundred ways with their bare hands, it didn't make their evening any less normal. After Lyla finished pouring coffee, John took her hand. Felicity shot Oliver an excited look and did her best not to bounce in her chair.

"We have something to tell you," Dig began to laugh, "but, by the look on Felicity's face, you already know."

"We're engaged." Lyla's face broke into a radiant smile. "We're going to try this again."

"Finally," Felicity said as she launched herself at Diggle. John returned her embrace before releasing her so she could hug Lyla.

Oliver had risen from his chair. "Congratulations, John. I'm happy for you, for both of you." He extended his hand, but Dig pulled him into a hug. Oliver said softly, "You realize she's going to be insufferable."

"Hey, she can hear you." Felicity wrapped her arm around Lyla's waist. "You're just mad I was right."

Dig raised an eyebrow in question. Oliver absently pointed to the door. "That large item is your engagement present. She insisted on bringing it because she was convinced you'd gotten engaged."

"And I was right," Felicity said triumphantly as she moved to stand in front of Oliver.

"You bought it the week after Sara was born and it's been in your trunk ever since. You've been convinced they were about to be engaged for six months now."

"I knew I'd be right, eventually. I can't help if John moves at a glacial pace."

Lyla laughed. "It's not all on Johnny. I think we were both a little hesitant to get this wrong a second time."

"You won't get rid of me so easily this time." John said as he kissed the top of Lyla's head.

"I'm counting on it." Lyla rested her forehead on John's chest.

"Not to be rude, but where's the ring." Felicity was anxious to see which of the rings Dig had decided on.

Lyla put out her left hand and pulled it back when she realized it was bare. "Oh."

Dig put a hand on his fiancé's shoulder and reached into his jean pocket. "You left this next to the changing table." He slid the ring onto Lyla's finger.

Lyla extended her hand out for Felicity's inspection. "It's beautiful." The ring was beautiful, but it wasn't any of the rings Dig had been looking at.

"What's the matter? You don't like it?" Dig asked with concern.

Felicity shook her head, "What? No, of course not. It's beautiful. It's just," she sighed, "never mind, it's silly."

"Now we're all curious." Lyla teased.

"It's just that John's been acting funny and you know how I hate mysteries." She waited for Dig to nod his head in agreement. "When he wouldn't tell me what was going on, I checked his browser history and saw that he'd been looking at engagement rings." She watched as Dig sent a look over her head to Oliver. "I know you guys hate it when I do that, but you really should know by now that I really can't help myself and you've been warned repeatedly to delete your histories. It's not my fault you don't listen."

Lyla reached out and squeezed Felicity's hand. "I didn't get rid of my first ring after the divorce. John had the stones reset. He must've been looking for inspiration."

"Well, he did a great job. The ring is beautiful." Felicity said truthfully.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her stomach and pulled her against his chest. He pressed his lips to her ear and said, "I can't believe you tried to con me into making a bet for a satellite when you had inside information."

Felicity shrugged. "You can't blame a girl for trying."

VVVVV

"Call the SCPD and tell them we have a package waiting for them on Hobart and Williams."

Before Felicity could respond the electricity cut out in the lair. The lights all went out at once, as did her computers. The reassuring crackle of the com in her ear went quiet. She could no longer hear Roy discussing the finer plot points of the latest Fast and Furious movie. She reached for her cell knowing that Oliver would be freaking out, but there was no service. She wasn't all that surprised that she was without service. There were no cell towers in this part of the Glades and she'd installed a signal booster in the lair that was useless without power. For thirty seconds she stood in the unnerving silence as she waited for the emergency generator to kick on. However, when it did, she remained in darkness and her heart began to pound with fear. Someone had found them and she was alone with her guys fifteen minutes out. Without the persistent hum of her servers, she knew that her movements would be harder to disguise from whomever was attempting to infiltrate their lair. She quietly stepped out of her heels and moved as quickly as she could to the gun cabinet. After she retrieved a glock and two clips from the third drawer she moved towards the stairs. Her senses were heightened and she could smell traces of ozone in the air and something else that reminded her of the time her hair accidentally caught on fire in college while blowing out her birthday cake. She retreated into the recesses under the stairs and loaded the clip into the glock. She flipped the safety and took deep steadying breaths as she waited for the lair to be breached. Even without power, the electronic locking mechanisms on the outer doors would hold for twenty four hours on batteries. If the doors were compromised, she just needed to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the door open and the sound of more than one set of feet quietly inching down the stairs above her.

"Felicity?" A familiar voice laced with concern asked.

She exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "I'm here," she stated as she stepped out from under the stairs.

The light of a flashlight was turned on and the beam sought her out in the darkness. Dig kept the light on her as Oliver approached. "What happened?" The concern was still in his voice as he took the gun from her grip.

"The power went out. When the generator kicked in but the lights stayed out, I assumed we'd been compromised." She placed a hand on his chest to reassure herself as much as him.

Roy's heavy footsteps running down the stairs had them all turning. Dig caught Roy in the beam of the flashlight. "No sign of anything weird on my perimeter sweep. Must be an electrical problem." Roy pointed a finger at Felicity. "I guess your night is just getting started."

"Great," she said taking the flashlight from Dig, "I guess I'll start with the fuse box." She carefully made her way to the far recesses of the lair. Once she opened the fuse box and methodically went through each of them, she discovered that none of them had blown. She aimed the light at the wires entering and leaving the box. Deciding to follow the wires leaving the box she followed them towards the corner of the room. The closer she got to the corner, the stronger the smell of ozone and burnt hair. As the beam of light swept the corner she let out a small shriek.

"Felicity." All three men called as they approached in the darkness.

As Oliver's arm circle her waist she said, "I'm okay. Just startled."

Roy took the light from her and moved closer to the corner. He squatted down on his haunches, "Looks like the poor guy chewed through the wires and electrocuted himself." He stood up holding a very large and a very dead rat by its tail.

Felicity swallowed heavily as bile crept up her throat. She wasn't normally squeamish, but her childhood had been spent in a lot of unsavory places and she couldn't stand sharing space with rats and roaches. A shiver ran down her spine. She pulled angrily away from Oliver with the intention of grabbing her purse and returning home. "Felicity? Are you all right?" He asked following her.

"I can't work like this anymore. This place was supposed to be temporary. We're not in a centralized location so your response times are slower. Our comings and goings are way too conspicuous. I've got vermin trying to take out all my systems. Don't get me started on the bathroom." Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder, concern etched on his face. "And the ceilings are too low for the salmon ladder."

He huffed a small laugh. "You're right. We've been here too long. Now that I have my money back, we should find someplace more suitable."

"Really?" She asked softly, slightly ashamed about her outburst.

"You can even pick it out."

Thoughts of climate controlled spaces, with tall ceilings and separate rooms dedicated to training, weapon storage, medical supplies and a bathroom for the guys and one just for her had her rising onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "Thank you."

VVVVV

The monotony of reviewing commercial real estate, blue prints and building permits had Felicity letting out a frustrated sigh. Sundays were supposed to be for relaxing in pajama pants while pretending to watch television while she and Oliver were really making out like teenagers. Instead, she was trying to find a suitable location for the new Arrow cave. She'd already set up a fake holding company to make the purchase with money she'd moved off-shore. They were never going to make the mistake of operating Team Arrow out of a property owned by Oliver again. Nor was she going to be as arrogant as Moira to use funds from QC to set up her secret LLC. She wasn't touching any money traceable to the Queens. Her new LLC was going to be entirely funded by overseas bank accounts belonging to Isabel Rochev and Slade Wilson. She'd debated giving their money to the rebuilding efforts in the Glades, but decided that Oliver and Thea could spend their money making Starling a better place and she could spend Isabel and Slade's to make sure that the Arrow could continue to protect the city the people were rebuilding. Felicity hadn't exactly told Oliver where she was getting the money to buy their new property, nor had she asked him how much she could spend. She assumed that he assumed that the money was coming from some account he didn't know about and not his personal one. She wasn't sure how he'd feel if he learned that she'd taken the money from Isabel and Slade. Worrying about the ethics of using purloined money was irrelevant when she couldn't find anything that met their needs.

They needed to be close to the Glades, but not somewhere so busy that their comings and goings would be discernible. They couldn't be someplace isolated because it would be hard to remain inconspicuous. The location would need to be heavily secured without drawing attention. The new location needed to be dry, have access to power and water and above all else, no rodent to chew through all of her precious wires. So far, nothing had met her criteria which only meant she'd be spending more time in their current location fighting off rats the size of small dogs.

Felicity took off her glasses and flopped back onto her pillow with a groan. Closing her eyes, she'd just started drifting to sleep when the sound of soft footfalls entering the bedroom made her smile. "I'm sorry to tell you, but I've failed this city. I think I might deserve to be stuck with your arrow."

 

The bed dipped beside her and she reached for Oliver's hand. The small hand that squeezed her fingers in return was accompanied by a squeaky voice that took her by complete surprise. "I don't have an arrow, but I'm pretty sure we could figure something out."

For the moment, Felicity was too excited to see her friend to be embarrassed by the fact that she'd just flirted with her. She sat up and threw her arms around Sara's neck "When did you get here?"

Sara returned Felicity's hug. "I have missed you." Sara climbed onto the bed beside Felicity and leaned against the headboard. "I got in last night and after I had breakfast with Laurel and my dad, I thought I'd surprise you guys at the lair, but there wasn't any power. I called Ollie and he told me that the operation was finally done in by a rat."

"It's not funny." Felicity said trying not to join Sara in her laughter. "I never thought anything could be more disruptive then Mirakuru soldiers and the League of Assassins running around the Foundry. Turns out, I was wrong."

Sara placed a hand on Felicity's forehead and her other on her own. "Felicity Smoak admitting she is wrong. You must have a fever." The two women doubled over laughing. "So is Ollie hiding from you at QC because he's avoiding a grumpy girlfriend?"

Felicity narrowed her eyes. She knew Oliver had gone out, she just assumed it was to train. Oliver going into the office on a weekend without Felicity making him go was unheard of. He had to be working on something he didn't want her to know about, which meant only one thing, the Bratva. Not wanting to involve Sara, she said, "He's not hiding from me, or at least, I don't think he is. I did kind of use my loud voice last night after we found the dead rat." Sara's musical laugh filled the room. "It's not funny. I can't work under those conditions. I have very sensitive equipment."

"So, why are you hiding up here?" Sara asked with a tilt of her head. She'd clearly seen Felicity react to Oliver's whereabouts and she was concerned. "Is everything okay between you and Ollie?"

"Oliver and I are fine," she said truthfully. "I'm not hiding. I'm looking for a new location for the team. Preferably rodent free."

"Not having any luck?" Sara picked up Felicity's laptop that was open to a map of available properties.

"None. Finding a location for your secret lair to conduct vigilante operations out of is a lot harder than you'd think." Felicity took back her laptop and placed it on her nightstand.

"You'll find something." Sara said distractedly.

Felicity studied her friend's face. She had dark circles under her eyes and bruise on her cheek that was only partially concealed by makeup. "Are you in town for work or a visit?"

Sara's fingers unconsciously brushed against her bruised cheek. "I just finished up an assignment and I have a few days before I'm expected back, so I thought I'd visit."

Sara had a faraway look on her face that made Felicity shiver. She clasped Sara's hand tightly. "Well, I'm glad you did." Sara smiled weakly and Felicity held her hand tighter. Sara had fled the League once before because she could no longer take the killing. She'd even been willing to commit suicide so she wouldn't be forced to return to the League. She'd only returned to the League in exchange for their help to defeat Slade. Felicity knew Sara wanted to be reunited with Nyssa, but by returning to the League, she'd returned to killing. They'd never talked about her choice to return to the League or the work they had her doing, but Felicity could see the change in her friend. She looked haunted. "Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it with a slight shake of her head. Tears pooled in her eyes, but they didn't fall. She leaned over and placed her head onto Felicity's lap. "Sometimes I need to be reminded that there are good people in my life who don't wear masks."

Felicity gently stroked Sara's head and ran her fingers through her soft golden hair. She whispered soothing sounds and after a few minutes she could feel her friend relax and surrender to sleep. As she continued to stroke Sara's head she could only imagine what fresh horrors had sent her running home. If Sara had come home to heal, Felicity would make sure her time would be spent having family dinners and hanging out with friends. She would speak to Oliver. There wouldn't be any Arrow and Canary crime fighting adventures this visit. They would all help Sara put herself back together again. As Felicity watched her sleeping friend she asked herself how many times Sara could return to the League before there was nothing left to put together.

Felicity sensed Oliver and she looked up to see him leaning against their doorway. His brow was knit together as he watched Sara. He slowly raised his eyes to Felicity and asked her silently if Sara was okay. Felicity shook her head. Oliver took a stuttering breath and backed out of the room. Felicity could hear him softly retreating down the hallway. Clearly whatever he'd been up to at QC had upset him and seeing Sara in her current state had shaken him. Felicity sank back against the pillows and as her eyes drifted shut she wondered if all the heroes in her life would be forever haunted or if there was a way to banish the darkness.

VVVVV

As promised, Felicity found another way to get her spy tech onto Amy Abbott's phone. Unfortunately, the plan involved her hosting her first dinner party since moving in with Oliver. Throwing together a last minute dinner party for the elite of Starling City, in order to spy on your boyfriend's former lover who might be in cahoots with the Russian mob, was a lot tougher than you'd think. Firstly, they had to come up with a cover story for Thea since they were going to need her help.Fortunately, a pretty explicit story about Oliver from his time before the Gambit hit the tabloids. The story was provided by an anonymous alleged ex and it involved drug fueled sex. The tabloids promised more lurid stories in an upcoming edition. Unfortunately, QC's stock took a steep dip when everyone was reminded just what kind of man the current CEO of QC used to be. Oliver had shrugged his shoulders when Thea had asked if it was true. He said it sounded like it could be true and vaguely reminded him of something from his time with Amy. The younger woman volunteered to confront Amy, but Felicity said that if they didn't want that story to end up in the tabloids too, they needed to obtain some leverage. Felicity asked Thea to help her host a gathering so they could get what they needed to make sure no more stories about Oliver's youthful indiscretions with Amy appeared in the press. Originally, Felicity wanted to throw a fundraiser, but after a twenty minute lecture from Thea, who was channeling Moira from the grave, on how it took months to plan one, they decided to go with an impromptu black tie dinner. Sixteen of Starling's wealthiest and most powerful were invited to join the Queen siblings for a late supper after a performance of the Moscow ballet. Felicity wasn't sure she'd ever get used to being a one percenter.

Oliver squeezing her fingers shifted her attention from worrying about the passed hors d'oeuvres she'd selected to whatever question she'd been asked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Did you enjoy tonight's performance?" He asked with a grin.

"Um, honestly? I don't remember." She said a little guiltily.

Roy snorted from his seat across from her in the limo. Thea glared at him and she backhanded his chest. Roy grimaced and rubbed his chest and his girlfriend rolled her eyes. "I wish I didn't remember. Remind me, why I'm attending this farce tonight? Laurel didn't make Ted go."

"Well, you're not dating Laurel and I gave you a choice." Roy grunted his disagreement. "What? I said that if you wanted access to my bed during the next two months, you'd attend."

"Hey," Oliver growled. "We have rules about this, Speedy."

"Ollie, why is it okay for you to have a sex life, but not me?" Thea asked defiantly. "You're attitude is more than a little sexist."

Oliver squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "You can have a sex life," his nose wrinkling in distaste, "I just don't want to know anything about it." The siblings glared at one another.

"You okay there, Blondie?" Roy reached out and touched Felicity's knee. "You're looking a little green around the gills."

Oliver shifted closer to her and placed a hand on her forehead. "Are you all right? You are a little clammy."

She put her head between her knees and Oliver placed a hand on her back and began to rub soothing circles. "I think this is a bad idea."

"We've had crazier plans. Some even involved explosives." Oliver teased.

"Not about planting the tech." She sat up. "About hosting this dinner party. Tonight has disaster written all over it.''

Oliver cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Felicity, it will be fine."

"Oliver, I'm going to have to make small talk, with strangers." She said as if this was a fact as obvious as the sky being blue.

Roy snorted again, this time earning a kick to his shin and an icy glare from Thea as she spoke to Felicity. "You'll be fine. Just don't discuss religion or politics."

Felicity groaned. "Religion and politics are a lot safer than me babbling and," turning to Oliver, "you won't be sitting next to me to stop me."

Oliver did his best not to smile. "You're sitting next to Walter, he won't let you embarrass yourself. You'll be fine."

"You say that now, but what if I say something about your prowess in the boardroom doesn't compare to your prowess in the bedroom?"

"Hey," Thea snapped.

"Not so much fun, is it?" Oliver smirked as he tapped Thea's foot with his own.

"Let's just agree to never use the word prowess again." Thea said with a slight shutter and blush to her cheeks.

"Oh good, we're here." Roy announced with unrestrained sarcasm as they pulled in front of the mansion.

Much to Felicity's surprise, dinner went well. Walter was an excellent dining companion and she managed to steer the conversation at their end of the table to topics she was an expert on. She was pretty sure she'd been both erudite and charming. The dinner party had moved to the living room for after dinner drinks and for some of the men to step onto the patio to smoke cigars.

Felicity was sipping an aperitif and discussing an arson case Laurel was prosecuting when they were approached by Amy. "Felicity, thank you for inviting me. Dinner was lovely."

"Oliver and I are happy that you could join us." She took another sip of her drink for courage.

"Laurel, it is good to see you looking well. I heard there were some unfortunate circumstances last year. It's a good thing that the District Attorney's office believes in second chances." Amy wore a large relaxed smile, but there was menace in her eyes. "Of course. you always believed in giving second chances, especially to Ollie." Felicity felt Laurel go rigid at her side. "Not that giving him all those chances worked in your favor. He still didn't choose you in the end."

Felicity struggled to believe that this woman was a diplomat. "When do you return to Moscow? Life with the State Department sounds more glamorous than heading up a business division. All I seem to do is read reports and balance budgets."

Amy turned her smile to Felicity. "I'm sure Ollie is lucky to have you. He was always gifted in getting women to do things for him. It freed him up for his extracurricular activities. Do you always invite Ollie's ex-lovers over to entertain him?"

Felicity debated with herself for a moment, but seeing Laurel's red cheeks had her throwing politeness out the door. Moira Queen would be mortified to see the woman her son had chosen be rude to a guest, but Felicity was raised by Donna Smoak who'd never let an insult pass unremarked. "Oliver is no longer than man you remembered. I'm sure you wouldn't want people to believe that you're still the same hard partying girl who did lines of blow off the abs of another woman's boyfriend." She tried not to grin when Amy flinched.

Amy's smile would give Isabel Rochev a run for her money. "If you'll excuse me, I promised to speak with Mrs. Foster before I left."

Laurel put an arm around Felicity's waist as they watched Amy scurry off. "Forget about men in masks, you're my hero."

Felicity nodded her head. "I hate the word lovers. It's creepy no matter how you say it." She drained the last of her drink and waived Raisa over. "I need a very large glass of red." The maid moved to go when Felicity touched her arm. "Nothing too expensive." Raisa smiled and walked away. Under her breath Felicity said, "I don't plan on drinking it."

Felicity made eye contact with Roy who laced his fingers through Thea's. She watched as Thea laughed at something Walter said and she felt herself relax. Any guilt she might've felt about their plan had been washed away by her exchange with the snarky diplomat. Not only was she working with the Bratva, she was also a bitch. She took the large glass of red from the tray Raisa carried and eyed Amy in her beaded cream gown. "Ready, Blondie?" Roy mouthed from across the room.

Felicity nodded her head. Turning to Laurel she said, "I just remembered that I need to ask Ned about something for a meeting this week."

Taking a sip of wine for courage, Felicity began to cross the room towards the Fosters and Amy. Roy stepped away from Thea and Walter. He turned around to ask Thea something, but continued to walk backwards. He collided with Felicity, sending her and her glass of wine into Amy. Felicity lost her balance in her high heels and dropped the wine glass which shattered on the floor. She toppled to the ground, taking Roy with her. As Roy landed on top of her she felt the air whoosh out of her lungs.

She heard gasps from around the room. "Are you okay?" Roy asked with real concern. He was currently laying on top of her, which had definitely not been part of their plan.

Thoughts of Oliver swinging like Tarzan from a tree to save her from a landmine flew into her head. "How is it possible that you feel heavier than Oliver laying on top of me?" Felicity asked pushing against his chest. The smug grin across his face made her groan and she knew she had to be blushing.

"If you're making inappropriate comments, you must be fine." He said sitting up.

A strong pair of hands helped Felicity to sit up. "Are you all right, my dear? Are you hurt?" Walter asked.

She smiled warmly at her former boss. "I'm fine. Just embarrassed."

Walter helped her to her feet "You're bleeding."

Felicity followed his gaze and she saw she had a shard of glass in the heel of her hand. She looked away quickly. Swooning over the sight of blood was definitely not part of the plan. She looked over to Amy who was uselessly blotting red wine from her dress. "Amy, I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened." She hoped she sounded sincere.

Amy looked furious and was about to speak when Thea put an arm around her and began to steer her out of the room. "Let's get you cleaned up. Of course, we'll dry clean this for you. I'm sure we can find something of mine for you to wear."

Oliver had appeared at her side and addressed the room with his best CEO grin in place. "It appears we've had some excitement. We'll have this cleaned up in no time." The household staff had appeared and were busily cleaning up the mess. The guests returned to their drinks and conversations. He gently took Felicity's injured hand. "You might need stitches."

Felicity sighed. Stitches weren't in the plan either. "I'm fine. I'll just go and clean myself off and take care of our other problem."

"I'll go with her," Roy volunteered, as he offered her a napkin to wrap around her hand.

They walked passed Thea's room and knocked softly. The tiny brunette opened her door a crack and handed them a cell. "Be quick. She's in the bathroom and really really pissed."

Roy took the phone from Thea and Felicity went to retrieve her phone when she realized that her hands were now covered in blood. She couldn't retrieve her phone without getting blood all over herself or bug Amy's phone without leaving bloody fingerprints. Felicity looked to Roy for help. He rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me." He gingerly stuck his hand into the cleavage of her dress, "Ugh, gross," and pulled out her phone and a cable.

"My boobs are not gross, Roy Harper." She said more than a little affronted by her friend's judgment.

"You better not tell Oliver that I got to second base with you a lot faster than he did." The fun-sized archer snarked.

"Trust me," Felicity whispered, "I will take this to my grave." She quietly instructed him on how to upload the program from her phone onto Amy's. Less than a minute later, Roy knocked on Thea's door and handed her the borrowed cell.

Roy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. I better get the glass out of your hand before Oliver decides you need to go to the hospital."

Felicity was already in bed by the time Oliver had finished his obligations as host. She'd been unable to get her hand to stop bleeding and decided it was better if she didn't return to the party. She sent her apologies with Thea and Roy and set to work to make sure her connection to Amy's phone was working. When Oliver returned to their room she was leaning with her back against their headboard with her laptop set across her knees and a pair of earbuds in. She was listening to a phone call between Amy and her sister. She had to cover her mouth to hide a smile as Oliver did a not so subtle strip tease. Instead of changing in their closet as he usually did, he removed his jacket and tie while standing at the foot of their bed. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and rand his thumbs under his suspenders. A giggle erupted from her as she watched the man she loved try to seduce her with suspenders.

"Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for." Oliver's eyes reminded her of a puppy.

Felicity removed the earbuds she was wearing and placed her computer on her nightstand. Rising to her knees she walked to the end of the bed and took hold of his suspenders and gave herself an imaginary pat on the back for having the foresight to tell Oliver how sexy she found him in suspenders. "What kind of reaction were you hoping for?" She asked him as she looked up at him through her lowered lashes.

Oliver put his arms around her and a knee on the bed before he lowered them onto the bed. He nuzzled her neck with his nose. "Definitely not laughter." Before she could speak he began to rub his beard across her neck and shoulders.

"Oliver," she squealed as he continued to tickle her. As his onslaught continued, she began to thrash beneath him and press her hands against his chest.

A hiss left Oliver's lips as he sat up, pulling her with him by her wrists. "You're still bleeding." Blood was dripping down her hand and had stained his white shirt. He got out of bed and led her into the bathroom where he removed her bandage and examined the jagged ends of her wound. "It's pretty deep. You need stitches." Felicity voiced her displeasure with a grunt as Oliver retrieved their first aid kit from the cabinet. Most people's first aid kits didn't include sutures and lidocaine, but most people weren't vigilantes. He placed the kit on the counter and gently sat her next to it. He cleaned the wound and began to fill a syringe with lidocaine to numb her hand.

"Not exactly what I wanted to get stuck with tonight." She said to the ceiling. She had gotten use to using needles on the guys, but she still felt faint whenever a needle was going to be used on her.

Oliver pressed a kiss to her lips and she felt a small pinch. "You really shouldn't distract me when I'm trying to concentrate. Not if you don't want a scar." She smiled at him before looking down at her hand. Oliver prodded her hand with the tip of a scissor. "Feel that?" She shook her head. As soon as he picked up the needle and thread her gaze returned to the ceiling. "What were you listening to when I came in?"

Appreciating the distraction she said, "Just checking on my connection to Amy's phone. It's working. I was listening to her conversation with her sister. She called her before she even left the driveway." Oliver made a grunt to let her know he was listening and she should continue. "You'll be happy to know that she still thinks you're ridiculously hot and that she'd still do you." Felicity paused, waiting for his reaction, but he remained focused on her sutures. "She also said that your new girlfriend is, and I quote, _An awkward bottled blonde who probably bores him in the bedroom and is a total bitch_."

Oliver chuckled, "Well, she got one out of the four right."

Felicity was glad that she was undeniably a bottled blonde so she didn't have to guess which descriptor Oliver thought fit her. "I think you've been the subject of enough of my awkward rambles to know that she was right about that and, in fairness to her, I was a bit of a bitch tonight."

"Finished." Oliver said as he placed a Sponge Bob Band-Aid over her stitches. "It wasn't too bad, right?" He placed a kiss on her palm.

Felicity slid off the counter, making sure that she pressed her body against his as she stood up. She tilted her head and pointed to her neck. Oliver smiled before kissing her neck. She titlted her head to the opposite side and pointed. He pressed a kiss to her neck before he sucked against her pulse. A soft moan escaped her lips and he groaned in response. She pointed to her lips and his lips brushed softly against hers. "You're not bored, right? You'd tell if you needed something else?"

Oliver's fingers flexed on her hips and his eyes flashed to hers "You're everything I need and more than I deserve. I will never get enough of you." The intensity of his gaze made her breath hitch. When her lips parted he captured her mouth with his own, his eyes never leaving hers. The kiss was insistent and demanding and conveyed all the need and desire they shared for one another. He banded his arms behind her back and lifted her from the counter. Her legs wrapped around him in an attempt to get closer. He returned her to their bed and silently finished removing his clothing before undressing her. Their gaze remained locked as they made love. Something shifted between them while remaining the same. The love they shared had branded itself onto each of them. There was no denying what they were to each other. It went beyond friendship and partnership. It was more than lust and desire. It was two people merging into one heart with a single purpose. They had become everything to each other because their love had been made infinite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always appreciated and welcomed.
> 
> Happy Mother's Day to all my mom readers in the States.
> 
> Next up: What was going on with Dig's browser history?


	7. April

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver reveals some secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who took the time to send me a comment or leave a kudos on the last chapter. It is nice to know I still have readers interested in this story. Many of you speculated on Dig's browser history and this chapter will reveal all.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

The sound of Oliver's boot tapping against the concrete floor was driving Felicity insane. For the past week he'd been stuck sitting at his workstation listening to Amy Abbott's phone calls while Dig and Roy were out running patrols. Over the years, she'd learned to tune out the sounds of sparring, archery practice and even the clang of the salmon ladder but his tapping foot was, evidently, her limit. He was bored and frustrated and on Felicity's last nerve. She was trying to lead Roy through a labyrinth of cargo containers down at the docks. Tonight the Triad was attempting to bring in a shipment of weapons and with Oliver benched, she needed all of her focus on the port's cameras if she was going to bring Roy and Dig home safe.

Once Roy and Dig engaged the Triad it only took them twenty minutes to disarm and tie-up ten men and wait for Captain Lance to arrive. As she watched Roy head out on his bike and Dig in the van, she turned her attention to her tightly wound boyfriend.

Felicity approached Oliver from behind and placed her hands on his shoulders. She slowly moved her hands down his chest and onto his lap before she pressed firmly on his legs to stop their bouncing. Her lips sought out the skin right below his ear and she began to suck gently. He pulled the headphones from his ears and tilted his head to give her better access. "You're driving me crazy," she whispered against his ear, "and not in a good way."

He spun his chair around and pulled her onto his lap. "How much longer until they're back?" He had a playful glint in his eye.

"Not long enough for what you have in mind." She pushed against his chest as he leaned in for a kiss. "No, sir. You're not going to distract me. Have you finished listening to all of the calls?"

He frowned as he spun them back towards his workstation. "I've just been double checking the transcript. I'm not the best typist." He scrolled through his evening's efforts.

Felicity did feel a little badly for him. He was an abysmal typist, which made transcribing hours of phone calls very slow going. Unfortunately, the majority of Amy's calls were in Russian and Oliver was the only member of the team with the ability to translate. Felicity had tried translation software, but it didn't work very well. "Anything interesting?"

He looked at her sideways before his eyes slid back on to the screen. "Not really. I was trying to figure out if she was speaking in code to anyone. She uses certain words frequently, but they're not being used correctly. I can't decide if it is because her Russian is poor or if it is intentional or I'm just rusty. I'm worried that once I've translated what she's saying, if there is a code, we won't see it."

"What about the words she's using frequently? Have you kept track of them?" She asked leaning closer to the screen as if she could will the pattern into existence.

"Yes, I've kept a list of the words in Cyrillic." He opened a new document with a list of about twenty words.

Felicity bit her lip as she thought about code breaking and patterns. "Hmm, if these words are part of a code, they might only make sense in context with the words around them." She looked over her shoulder at him apologetically. "I hate to say this, but I need you to do a transcript in Cyrillic. I can run a pattern recognition software using the words you've identified. If there is a code, I might be able to break it that way." She tried not to sound giddy. Felicity loved puzzles and breaking codes and this sounded like it could be a fun challenge except that it was going to cause Oliver several more hours of work.

Oliver grinned and opened a third document. "Like this?" He asked a little smugly.

She turned in his lap to face him and smiled. "I love you."

"I've learned to anticipate your needs." He teased.

"While I work on Cyrillic code breaking, are you sure there isn't anything we can go on? No Bratva names? No dinner date plans with Oscar?" She asked half joking, half wishful thinking.

He huffed and pressed his forehead against her shoulder. "I'm trying to decide if I should call Anatoly and ask about her. Find out if she is Bratva or a just a well placed contact."

"Sounds like a no-brainer to me, but if you're hesitating there must be something I'm not getting."

"She works for the State Department."

"So?" Felicity still wasn't sure what Oliver was laying out in front of her. She hated when she was slow to make connections.

"So, she has ties to the Bratva."

"Yeah, she's a criminal."

Oliver winced. "Putin has been able to stay in power because he has made certain arrangements with the Bratva."

Felicity pushed them back from his desk and she jumped from his lap. She tried to get all the pieces to fall into place as she paced. "She's a spy?" Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "I thought it was bad when I thought she was trafficking in girls, guns and drugs." She stopped suddenly and looked at Oliver who was watching her with an expectant look on his face. "Were you a spy?"

He shook his head as he rose from his chair. "Not when I was with the Bratva."

She cocked her head and stared at her boyfriend. She sometimes wondered how many secrets could reside in such a beautiful head. Every day they were together she felt them grow closer and closer but he was still able to surprise he. "Just so you know, I heard what you just said and I'm reserving the right to talk about you possibly being a spy later, but right now, what should we do about Amy? If she's a spy, should we turn her over to Lyla?"

"Turn over which spy to Lyla?" Dig asked walking down the stairs with Roy on his heels.

"Oliver's ex." Felicity said.

"Which one?" Dig and Roy asked in stereo.

"Everyone's a comedian," Oliver muttered under his breath. "Amy, but I don't know if we need to involve ARGUS, yet. She could be spying for our government and we could blow her cover. Felicity, let's see if we get anything when you run your software. If we think she is spying on behalf of Russia, we'll turn her over, but let's see if we can find a way to use her to get dirt on Oscar first."

VVVVV

Felicity was on a conference call with Ray Palmer when there was a disturbance coming from Peggy's desk. She asked Ray to hold and went to investigate the commotion. Roy was standing in front of her assistant's desk and they both looked upset. As soon as she opened her office door, they both turned to face her and began speaking at once.

"I'm sorry. I know he is on your list, but I told him you were on a very important call and couldn't be disturbed." Peggy offered as way of explanation.

"Felicity. I need to speak with you. It's an emergency." His face looked pinched and he was radiating anxiety that succeeded in making her feel twitchy.

Roy had only ever come to QC once before. She'd invited him plenty of times to join her for lunch but he always politely declined. Thea said it was because he was afraid that Felicity would put him in a jacket and tie and make him work behind a desk. His aversion to QC convinced her that whatever had him spooked enough to show up here had to be important. "It's okay, Peggy. Family emergency. Please apologize to Mr. Palmer for me and tell him something unexpected has come up and I need to reschedule." She opened her door and gestured for Roy to go in. "Oh, Peggy," she said softly. "After you're done with Mr. Palmer, please confirm with Gerry that Mr. Queen is still in the building." Peggy nodded and Felicity smiled in response. She didn't think that Oliver would go out on any Arrow or Bratva business without telling her first, but Roy's urgency made her need to know that Oliver was safe in his office.

Roy was pacing in front of her windows and dragging his fingertips along the glass. She was about to yell at him about fingerprints when she saw how tightly his jaw was clenched. Before she could ask him what was going on he said, "She knows."

"You're going to need to be a lot more specific." She sat down on the arm of the sofa with a sigh, confident that whatever his crisis was, it wasn't going to require masks and arrows just some big sister advice.

"Thea. She knows." He said with wide-eyed horror.

Felicity felt her stomach drop. _Frack_. If Thea knew about Oliver, she needed to warn him before he was cornered by her. "Knows what?"

He stopped moving. "She knows I'm Arsenal."

Her stomach lurched. _Frackity, frack_. "What about Oliver?"

He ran his hands over the top of his head. "No, she didn't put that part together, yet."

She relaxed a little when she heard that, for the time being, Oliver's secret remained secret. Before she could ask her next question, Peggy knocked on the door and stuck her head in. "Mr. Queen is in his office. Gerry wants to know if you need him. He can reschedule Mr. Queen's next appointment."

"Don't tell Oliver," Roy pleaded.

Felicity smiled at Peggy. "Thank you. Please tell Gerry we're all set." Once the door closed behind Peggy she returned her attention to the stressed out archer. "Tell me what happened."

"We were at the club setting up and I told her that I couldn't work tonight, but I'd still be able to do the close. She shrugged and said, just make sure the Arrow has you back in time to close the registers."

"Roy, did she actually say that you are Arsenal? Maybe she was joking." Felicity hoped this was the case.

"When I went to deny it, she said that she knew that I was the one in the red hood working with the Arrow."

Felicity raised her eyebrows at him. He looked down at the front of his red-hooded hoodie and gave her a sheepish smile. "I told you to burn that thing last summer."

"I love this sweatshirt." He said as if it were a reasonable explanation for keeping such an obvious clue to his secret identity.

She rolled her eyes at him. "So, how mad is she?" Felicity was more concerned for Oliver's sake than Roy's. Oliver's main reason for keeping Thea in the dark was because he thought she'd be angry with him for keeping yet another secret. If she was willing to forgive her boyfriend, she'd have to forgive her brother.

Roy sat on the chair opposite her. "What am I going to do?"

_Frack_. "She's mad." She said resignedly.

"Who? Thea? No, she was pretty cool with it." He leaned closer to Felicity with fear in his eyes. "What am I going to do about Oliver? He told me that I wasn't to tell Thea or he'd put an arrow through me."

She was about to tell him he was being absurd, but then she remembered that Oliver had actually put an arrow through Roy's leg when he thought Roy and Thea were getting too involved in the Mirakuru investigation. She took pity on him. "How about I tell Oliver?"

His face lit up and he launched himself at her. He pulled her to her feet in his strong embrace. "Thank you." In what she thought was meant to be reassuring he said, "He won't put an arrow through you."

Felicity laughed. She was confident that she wouldn't be run through with an arrow, but her evening promised to be full of silent brooding. "I can't believe you chase down violent criminals every night without a second thought, but you're afraid of our sweet Oliver."

Now Roy was the one to laugh. "Our sweet Oliver? More like, only Felicity's sweet Oliver."

"I'll talk to him tonight, after patrol."

"Thank you," a very relieved looking Roy said as he kissed her cheek.

He opened the door to leave just as she said, "You're welcome, but Roy" he turned to look back at her, "you and Thea might want to spend tonight at your place."

He grinned and closed the door behind him. She shook her head as she realized that she'd be grinning too if she didn't have to tell Oliver that his baby sister was one step closer to discovering that he was the Arrow.

Later that night, Felicity sat against her headboard with her tablet balanced across her knees. She was dressed for bed and her hair was loose around her shoulders. Her fingers nervously drummed against the mattress as she waited for Oliver to come to bed. Ever since Roy told her that Thea had reacted positively to him being Arsenal she'd been trying to figure out the best way to convince Oliver to reveal himself as the Arrow. She just worried that if Oliver took her advice and Thea reacted the way he feared, he'd never forgive her. The irony of her contemplating keeping something from Oliver out of fear of losing him was not lost on her.

The mattress dipped as Oliver slid across the sheets towards her. One of his arms slipped behind her back and pulled her closer to him. He nuzzled her neck before he began pressing kisses along her collarbone and jaw before his lips landed sweetly against hers. He pulled away slightly and looked at her quizzically. "What's going on?"

She blinked at him like she'd just awoken from a deep sleep. "Nothing." She placed a hand on the back of his neck in an attempt to draw him back to her for a kiss.

He captured her hand in his and placed it back at her side before he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Felicity, you've been acting squirrelly all night and you definitely weren't here with me when I just kissed you." He kissed her temple. "What's going on in there? You're worrying about something."

Her nerves got away from her and she blurted out, "Thea knows Roy is Arsenal." _Frack_. That's not how she planned on telling him.

He backed away from her like he'd been burned. "What?"

Felicity covered her face with her hands. "You'd never know I agonized for hours trying to think of the best way to tell you."

"How?" He looked confused.

"That damned red hoodie," she muttered. At his reproachful look she said, "How many pint-sized parkour experts who are equally obsessed with the Arrow and wearing red hoods do you know?"

Oliver let out a groan and flopped back onto the bed. "Does she know about me?"

Felicity crawled over to him and tucked her knees against his side. She took the hand he covered his eyes with and returned it to his side. "Turns out, you never wearing green when you're not in leather was the right call." Oliver grunted his impatience. "She doesn't know who the Arrow is. You're in the clear, for now."

Oliver sighed in relief. "We're going to have to be a lot more careful. She might figure out that we're a lot closer to Roy than it makes sense for us to be."

It was Felicity's turn to sigh. "Oliver. Thea wasn't mad with Roy. She's okay with him being Arsenal. Maybe it's time you told her the truth."

"I can't." He got out of bed and began to walk the perimeter of the room.

"Just think how much easier our lives would be. No more elaborate stories about our weird hours or your bruises. No more flaking out on plans and disappointing her."

"Yeah, because she won't be speaking to me anymore."

Felicity patted the bed and held her hand out to him. He took her hand and allowed her to pull him next to her. "Oliver, she loves you and the Arrow has saved her life, multiple times. I don't think you give her enough credit. She's not a child anymore. I think she can handle this."

"What if she can't? What if she hates me and I lose her forever?" He looked like a vulnerable child as he voiced his biggest fear.

Felicity put her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his. "She forgave you for keeping Malcolm being her dad from her."

Oliver's fingers traced patterns along her spine. "Yes, but this will be another thing that I deliberately lied about."

"Thea knows how much you love her and she knows that your first instinct is to protect her. She'll understand why you lied. Give her the chance to react. Right now you're putting words into her mouth and denying yourself the chance to be as close with her as I know you want. This secret is a wall between you. Until she knows the truth, she won't get to know the real you."

"The real me isn't the brother she remembers. What if she can't love the real me?"

She cocked her head before brushing her lips against his. "The real you is pretty damn lovable."

He smiled at her. "Thank you."

"For what?" She asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.

He captured her hands and brought them to his mouth for a kiss. "For giving me the courage to face my fears."

She cupped his face between her hands and gently said, "Sometimes you just need to reminded of who you are."

"Who am I?" His eyes pleaded for Felicity to tell him the answer. Her heart broke a little when she realized his question was genuine. Home for almost three years and Oliver Queen was still trying to figure out who he was.

She locked her eyes with his and placed her hand over his heart. "You're the man I love. The man I believe in."

VVVVV

Felicity pushed away from her desk with more force than she intended at the sound of the upper door unlocking. Her three partner's feet thundered down the stairs and echoed off the cement walls. The men had storms raging across their faces as they silently moved past her. She bit her tongue to keep a flood of questions from flowing out of her mouth as she watched each of them put away their equipment. Oliver was holding his body funny and she ran her eyes over him looking for the injury he was hiding. As he lifted his arms to replace his bow she saw a stripe of blood running across his ribs. She moved to the medical table and began to lay out the supplies she would need to tend to his wound. The sound of the contents of Oliver's work table hitting the floor made her jump. His little outburst seemed to relieve some of the anger and frustration he'd been carrying. His shoulders sagged as he took a deep breath. He gingerly began to lower himself to the floor to clean up his mess.

Roy moved quickly and put a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "I'll get this. Let Felicity fix you up before she implodes or you pass out."

Oliver turned towards her and had the wherewithal to look contrite. "It's noth," Felicity cocked her head and he stopped himself from finishing. He unzipped his jacket and allowed Felicity to slide it from his shoulders.

She removed his long-sleeved black t-shirt from his pants and carefully lifted it over his wound before she pulled it over his head. She hissed when the injury was revealed. He had an angry looking six inch gash across his ribs that was surrounded by a deep purple bruise. "You were shot," she said in a gentle voice that was equal parts sad and disappointed.

"It just grazed me. I won't even need stitches." He gave her a soft smile in an attempt to reassure her.

"Yes, but at what point was someone firing bullets at you?" He flinched as she began to clean the torn skin. "I don't remember any gunfire and I'm pretty sure I'd remember the sound of gunfire. So, at what point between, Felicity, I'm coming home, and you walking through that door were you shot?" She spread antibacterial ointment over his ribs.

"I wasn't shot," he said defensively.

"Don't," she looked up from where she was placing a bandage, "don't you dare. I'm not in the mood for semantics. This here, Mr. Queen, is a bullet wound. So, who shot you?" He looked away from her. She huffed her annoyance and turned her attention to the other men in the room. "Okay, which one of you is going to tell me what happened?" Dig and Roy both turned away. Anger began to swell in her chest. "I'm about to use my loud voice in three, two, one."

She opened her mouth wide, but Dig cut her off before she could begin. "Oliver might not be the only one Oscar asked to take out the Arrow."

It took her a moment for Dig's words to process."A hit?" She asked in disbelief. "How did they miss? Not that I'm not extremely happy that they missed, but how does a professional miss?"

All three men looked at one another before Oliver spoke. "They wouldn't have, but Roy spotted the shooter and tackled me."

"Roy Harper." She said sharply. "Come here, please." Roy reluctantly shuffled over to her side. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "We got lucky."

"No, you had your head on a swivel, just like we taught you. You did good tonight." Diggle said with pride."

"So, the shooter. Is the shooter still out there?" She asked with concern.

"The shooter got away," Oliver said with disgust.

She handed him the bandage and tape in order for him to finish dressing his own wound. "Where was this?" She asked Roy.

"5th and Lincoln," he quickly responded.

"One shooter, coming up." Felicity sat down at her desk and began to pull camera footage for the intersection.

"Felicity?" Oliver had moved to the side of her desk.

"Not now, Oliver. I've got a shooter to find and I can't think about what it means that Oscar hired someone else to kill the Arrow right now." Except, that was all she could think about. She had a pretty good idea what it meant and it terrified her. Oliver's two months were up and he hadn't delivered on his debt. If Oscar hired another hit man he no longer had a use for Oliver. It was only a matter of time before Oscar tried to eliminate Oliver and it wasn't going to be with a buyout offer and a gold watch.

She was able to find the footage of the shooting in less than five minutes. The shooter had worn a balaclava. She slammed her fist on her desk in anger. "Why don't you let me see if we can follow him with the cameras. He might take his mask off so he can blend in." Roy asked pulling his chair alongside hers.

Felicity felt her blood turn to ice as she stared at the man sent to kill the Arrow. Realizing that Roy was waiting for an answer, she responded with a slight waiver to her voice. "No, if he's a professional, I doubt he'll be that sloppy." She grabbed her cell and stood up. "I need to get some air."

She pushed past a concerned Dig and Oliver and rushed up the stairs into the cool evening air. Before the door closed behind her she heard Oliver tell Roy to keep looking. Her hands shook as she fumbled with the phone and dialed. A familiar voice answered. "Boomer, is everything all right?"

"I need you to get me a list of names Oscar uses to solve problems." She asked with as much calm as she could muster. She couldn't flat out ask Little Stevie for a list of hit men his father's rival used, just in case someone from law enforcement was listening in.

"What?" Little Stevie asked with concern. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Please Steve. Just get me the list." She tried to keep her voice even.

"Felicity, what's going on?" Little Stevie asked in confusion. "Has something happened?"

Felicity cursed herself as a sob betrayed her. "No. I've got to go."

"Wait," her former step-brother shouted. "Where's Oliver? God damned Bratva. He's gotten you mixed up with Orlov, hasn't he?" She could hear him speaking to someone, but he must have pressed the phone to his chest because she couldn't make out what was being said. "I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon I can."

"No, wait. Steve, you can't come here." The last thing she needed was her hot-headed over protective Mafioso step-brother to complicate things more than they already were. "I'm fine, really. I'm fine." She willed her voice to sound normal. "I think I'm just tired and I overreacted. Please forget I called."

She could hear her former step-father bellowing in the background. She couldn't make out everything that was being said, but she did hear her mother's name being taken in vain, as well as some choice phrases about her own judgment for getting into bed with a member of the Bratva. "I'm going to call you in the morning, " Little Stevie said in a way that she knew he meant business, "and you're going to tell me what the hell is going on. I'm going to find out what Orlov is doing in Starling and who he's using to clean up loose ends. If you don't answer, I will be on the next plane. Capisce?"

"Capisce." Felicity said and the line went dead.

"How are the Stevies?" Oliver was leaning against the door to the lair.

She shook her head. "Maybe they can get us some names, so we have a place to start."

"I'll see if I can dig up some names too."

"No," she shouted. "Don't you think he's here to kill Oliver-you too?"

Oliver shrugged. "Not sure, but I doubt it. Oscar's going to want to draw it out. Inflict maximum pain."

She half laughed, half sobbed at his nonchalance over Oscar's plan to torture him before murdering him. "Is it too late to go with one of my, _fake the Arrow's death,_ plans?"

Oliver wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. "I honestly don't think it really mattered to Oscar if I killed the Arrow or not. He was looking to put a bullet in me from the moment we walked into his club with the duffle of meth your mom stole. Me not following through has just given him a plausible excuse."

"None of that is very comforting to me." Felicity allowed herself to be momentarily comforted by the strength and certainty of Oliver's embrace. She pulled away from him and took a deep calming breath. "Evidence to put him away isn't going to find itself. Time to get back to work."

VVVVV

The sound of the mansion's front door opening and closing had Felicity instantly off the sofa and moving towards the living room door. The team had taken the night off so Oliver could have an evening alone, with Thea. When she reached the foyer, Oliver was already half way up the stairs. "Oliver?" She asked hopefully.

He turned and the smile he gave her had her sagging against the wall in relief. He ran down the stairs and picked her up and spun her around. "Felicity."

She tightened her arms around his neck and her legs hooked around his waist. "I take it went well?"

He buried his face against her neck. "She said, thank you." Felicity gently pulled against his hair so she could see his face. Happy tears leaked from his eyes. "She's not mad at me. She thinks I'm a hero."

"Oh, Oliver." Felicity began to kiss his face all over. "I'm so happy for you."

He laughed. "She said that you now make complete sense."

Felicity giggled. "She wasn't buying the whole babbling IT girl to executive assistant to love of your life?"

He shook his head and blushed. "She just thought that the sex must be really amazing."

Felicity couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her. Oliver joined her and squeezed her tighter against her chest. "In her defense, since you got back you've been playing up the playboy persona for her and the sex is really amazing." Felicity said when she caught her breath.

"But now she knows why I'm so madly in love with you. How you've saved me and made me into someone who wants to live." He kissed her and Felicity knew how much he loved her. When their lips parted to catch their breath, he whispered in her ear, "And the sex is really amazing."

"Oliver, upstairs, now." She said as she saw her own hunger reflected back at her in his eyes. They made it halfway up the stairs when she remembered the searches she was running on the list of names Little Stevie had sent her. She had set up a facial rec search to determine if any of the hit men were in Starling. "Wait, wait. I left my computer in the living room."

"We won't need your computer for what I have in mind." He teased and continued to climb the stairs with her in his arms.

"Oliver. I need my computer." She pulled on the back of his shirt as he sucked on her collarbone. She was perfectly capable of multitasking. There was no reason she couldn't have amazing sex with Oliver while her computer programs searched for the man hired to kill him. "Either get the computer now or you'll have to leave our bed when we're both naked."

He groaned, but turned around and quickly descended the stairs. He purposefully strode into the living room and dipped just enough for Felicity to reach her laptop on the sofa. She lifted it into her arms and pulled it against her chest. She kissed him chastely in thanks. He rolled his eyes as he maneuvered them out of the living room. "That might be coming upstairs with us, but you won't be looking at it tonight."

She was about to protest when his lips claimed hers and one of his hands dipped beneath the waist of her pajama bottoms. Any thoughts of hired gunmen slipped far, far, away.

VVVVV

The plush carpet beneath her toes felt like heaven after eighteen hours in five inch heels. Felicity had a new appreciation for her Aunt Rosie and how she made a living. Felicity at least got to sit down at her job. The mansion was quiet and the hallway lights had already been dimmed. Thea was spending the night at Roy's and Felicity had sent a text to Raisa to dismiss the household staff for the night. One of the weirder things about living in a mansion was her responsibility for the small army of employees it took to keep the house operating. Maids, cooks, security, gardeners, a maintenance crew and even an engineer. There was always a maid and a security guard on duty, even when the residents were out saving the city. Since Felicity knew that they'd all be out late, it seemed silly to make a maid sit in the kitchen waiting for one of them to come home with a whim for something.

She'd expected to find Oliver in the living room or study when she returned. The heavy spring rain had shortened the Arrow's patrols. Even the criminals of Starling City preferred to stay warm and dry in their homes. It had been Roy's first time filling in for her as Overwatch and, according to Dig, he did a good job. Oliver had called it a night at ten and sent her a text to let her know they were all back safe and going home. It figured that the one night the team had an early night, she'd been stuck at a dinner with Walter and some investors to hype the new security software she developed for Oliver and QC. It would be a game changer for QC and help Oliver cement a legacy in his own right.

Felicity opened their bedroom door gently. It was nearly one in the morning and maybe Oliver had decided to get a full night's sleep. The soft glow from the lamp on her bedside table revealed their bed to be empty. The sheets turned down on Oliver's side of the bed made her frown. He had clearly gone to bed early, but something had pulled him from his sleep. A clap of thunder told her all she needed to know. The sinking of the Gambit and the time Oliver spent on Lian Yu, exposed to the elements, had taught him the unforgiving power of Mother Nature. Thunder and lightning made his normally steady heart race and could wake him with a scream in his throat. A glance towards their darkened bathroom had her backing out of their room to find him when a flash of lightning illuminated Oliver sitting in a window seat with his head leaning on the glass and his knees pressed against his chest. "Oliver?" She asked with concern.

He turned a sleepy smile towards her and she felt her anxiety melt away. "How was dinner?"

"It went well. I think they were intrigued by our plans and once we are ready to go to market we'll see a nice boost to the stock price. Of course, that means I need to line up some clients to purchase it or the stock price won't stay up." She walked into their closet and returned her shoes to the vault. She slipped out of her dress and decided on one of Oliver's t-shirts to sleep in. She entered the bathroom to finish her nightly ablutions, but continued to chatter away. "I have to say after spending so much time with Walter, I can see how your mom fell in love with him. He is charming and funny and very attentive. I didn't say one inappropriate thing at dinner and I think that's because he's gotten as good as you at telling when I'm about to go off the rails. The difference is, he actually stops me."

Oliver was leaning against the bathroom door frame. "I like listening to you babble, especially when you're being inappropriate." He smiled. "Thank you."

"Is it working?" She asked with a mouthful of toothpaste.

The smile had turned into the goofy grin that made her insides go squishy. "Consider me distracted from the storm." As if in challenge a rumble of thunder shook the windows. "Should I be jealous of Walter? You're making him out to be quite the catch and I don't think I can compete with that accent."

Felicity snorted and nearly choked on the toothpaste. "He's the closest thing I've ever had to a father. I'm just saying, I see why your mom fell for him." She rinsed her mouth and began to remove her makeup. "I never met your dad, but I've seen pictures of him when they first got married. You come from an amazing gene pool and you look a lot like your dad at this age, you're just more," Oliver cocked an eyebrow at her as she appreciated his naked torso," well, you. You're more you. I know what that means in my head even though it sounds like gibberish outside of it. What was I saying?" She leaned over the sink to splash warm water onto her sudsy face.

Oliver looked intrigued. "I think you were comparing Walter and my dad."

"Right. They're both attractive men and exceptional business men, but was your dad's personality a lot like Walter's?"

Oliver pursed his lips and furrowed his brow as he seriously considered her question. "I never really thought about it before. I think Walter was a much better husband. I don't think he would've cheated on my mom. My dad was more gregarious. He had a sense of entitlement. Like the world owed him whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it because he was Robert Queen." Oliver shook his head like he was shaking off a memory. "He was larger than life. He had a way of filling up a room just by entering it."

"Like father, like son." Seeing the slightly hurt look on his face she continued, "Filling up a room with your presence not the cheating, well, not now, at least." Felicity wondered if Oliver hadn't joined his dad on the Gambit if he would've turned into the man he described. She slipped past him into the room and climbed into bed. Oliver followed her into bed and she rolled onto her side to face him. Oliver flinched when another flash of lightning lit up their room. Remembering she had news about the man hired to kill the Arrow she said, "Lance called to say that the SCPD picked up Alexander Roshenko and to send the Arrow thanks for the tip. Roshenko is wanted for at least fifteen counts of murder for hire and is going to be extradited to Gotham in the morning. Speaking of Gotham, you'll never guess who stopped by our table at the end of the night."

"Kim Kardashian." He winked at her as he threaded his fingers through hers.

"You really need to get a new pop culture reference." Oliver shrugged, but she continued. "Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox."

Oliver groaned and rolled onto his back. "Bruce Wayne? What's he doing in town?"

Felicity giggled. "Offering me a job, actually."

Oliver huffed. "Figures. Bruce is an ass, but Lucius is an impressive CEO. Wayne Enterprises wouldn't survive without him. You could learn a lot from him."

"Are you telling me I should accept his offer?" She teased.

He rolled back onto his side. "Hell no." He ran his fingers through her hair before cupping the back of her head. "I'd be lost without you. Besides, this brain belongs to me."

"Really?" I was under the impression it belongs to me."

He grinned at her and his eyes sparkled. She was overwhelmed by how much she knew he loved her. "Nope, it definitely belongs to me."

"If that's the case, then all of this," she ran her hand along his side, "belongs to me."

"That's pretty much been true since you came to Lian Yu to drag me home."

"If I had known, I would've insisted on you spending more time on the salmon ladder."

He did his best not to smile as he kissed her. "Why do you think I was always on that thing? She laughed. "Sometimes it was the only way I could get you to pay attention to me."

She always suspected that some of the workouts he did in the Foundry when they were alone together were attention seeking, she just hadn't realized he'd been falling in love with her. She kissed him back. "I was always paying attention, it was just hard to be subtle when you were on it."

Thunder and lightning arrived together. "Storm's close," he whispered. The wind picked up and lashed the rain against the windows.

Felicity scooted closer to him and pressed their joined hands against her heart. She could see Oliver drifting away from her, lost in a memory of his time away. "I think Bruce Wayne is Batman." Oliver's eyes flashed back to hers and she felt a bit triumphant that her distraction had worked so well.

"What?" He asked with incredulity. "He's a vapid playboy who has got to be pushing forty five."

Felicity arched a brow at him. "A billionaire womanizing playboy who is super fit and has access to his own tech genius. Sound familiar?"

"That's ridiculous. He's too egotistical to be the Batman." His brow furrowed. "How do you know he's super fit?"

She'd only been joking when she said it, but now that she said it, she was convinced that she was right. "Do you have any idea how much I spend every month on Arrow and Arsenal gear and equipment? Not to mention what Dig needs. Don't get me started on medical supplies. It costs a lot to keep Team Arrow running. I imagine Batman has similar expenses, plus he's got that Batmobile."

Oliver snorted. "Batmobile. Wayne definitely has the ego to drive around in that thing."

"I'm sure he's compensating for something." She winked when Oliver looked at her in surprise. "I'm just saying that it isn't cheap being a vigilante and who better to absorb the cost than a billionaire." She could see doubt on his face. "He could be as good as you at wearing masks. No one would believe that the dashing and ruggedly handsome CEO of QC could be the Arrow. I think Bruce might be pulling the same kind of ruse."

"Let's get married." He said confidently.

"What?" She asked.

"Let's get married."

Feliciy rose onto her elbow. "I heard you. Talk about a nonsequitir."

He rose onto his elbow and smiled. "Let's get married."

"Stop saying that." She pulled herself into a sitting position.

Oliver sat up and grasped her hands. "Let's get married."

She laced her fingers through his. "Are you serious?"

He pulled her into his arms and lowered them back onto the mattress. "What are we waiting for? With the life we lead, we're crazy to wait."

Felicity opened her mouth but no words came out. For the first time in her life she was truly speechless. "Is this your proposal?"

"No." He said firmly. "Wait here." He grinned, kissed her quickly on the lips and rolled out of bed. Before she could even react, he was back in bed grinning at her. "Hi."

"Hi." She traced his smile with her finger and imagined the smile on her face was a goofy as his.

"Let's get married."

She laughed, "Is that your proposal?"

His left hand was resting against the mattress. He opened his fist and revealed a ring. "Yes."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt like the biggest cliché in the world. She was crying over the man she loved proposing marriage with a shiny diamond. She shyly lifted the ring from his hand to get a closer look. She bolted upright as she realized that she'd seen the ring before. "Oh my God."

Oliver sat up in concern. "What?"

"You hacked Dig's password."

"What?"

"All this time I thought Dig was looking at rings and it was you. You used Dig's computer."

Oliver blushed. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

Her eyes went wide and she gave him a gentle shove. "You didn't take the bet because you knew he wasn't the one looking at rings."

"How can you be mad at that?" He asked in disbelief. "You're the one who made the bet thinking you had inside information. I thought I was sparing you from cleaning the lair for a month. If anyone should be mad, it's me."

"There you go again, using rational logic against me."

Oliver tapped her hand holding the ring. "Felicity?"

Her face broke out in a radiant smile. "Yes."

"Yes?" He asked full of hope.

She held her hand with the ring out to him. "Yes. Let's get married." Oliver pulled Felicity into his lap and took the ring from her open palm and placed it on her finger. They could only manage a quick kiss because their wide smiles refused to leave their faces. "So, how are we going to do this?" She asked eagerly.

"Whatever you want. A rabbi, a minister, a justice of the peace, an Elvis impersonator, an internet ordained Roy. Just tell me what you want and I'll make it happen."

"Definitely not Elvis." They both laughed. "What do you want?"

"I want to marry you tomorrow at the courthouse." He kissed her on the spot on her neck that made her shiver.

"That would be more than a little ironic. The Arrow getting married by a judge at the courthouse."

"Maybe that will help shorten my sentence if I ever get caught."

Thinking about the list of options he gave her and the one he put first she asked, "Do you want to convert to Judaism? You mentioned the rabbi, not that it matters. I'm Jewish, so if we had kids, they'd be Jewish, unless you don't want to raise them Jewish." She groaned. "Not that we decided to have kids."

"How long would it take?"

Felicity wrinkled her brow. "Nine months, but I think it's really ten months, so I don't know why everyone thinks it's nine months."

Oliver laughed. "Felicity. I know how long babies take. How long does it take to convert?"

"Length of time is a deal breaker?" She asked with amusement.

"Not really. If that's what you want, I'll do it, no matter how long it takes. I was just hoping we'd be married sooner rather than later. I don't want a long engagement."

"I have no idea how long it takes, but I think there are classes." She thought about all the hours he spends at both jobs and can't imagine how he'd be able to find time to take classes. "You don't have time for classes."

"I'll make time."

"You hated school."

"I love you."

"What about the annual Christmas party?"

"We can make a new tradition. The annual Hannumas or Chrismakuh party. Although, whatever we call it, Thea's gonna still want a giant Christmas tree."

Felicity laughed. "I love you, but you don't have to convert unless you really want to . We can share our traditions."

"How about I go talk to Rabbi Finkel tomorrow?"

"I didn't realize that you and my rabbi were such good friends."

"I might've made a sizable contribution to the Glades synagogue rebuilding fund when I was liquid again."

Felicity's heart overflowed with love for Oliver. When her mom died, Oliver had made all of the arrangements, including asking Rabbi Finkel to officiate. "That was very sweet of you."

Tears pooled in his eyes. "When you were in the hospital, after you were taken, when you were told about your mom, you had a panic attack. Do you remember?"

She nodded. Lance told her she needed to identify her mom's body and she suddenly couldn't breathe. Sweet, loving Vic had tried to comfort her, but in that moment she only wanted Oliver. As the nurse injected a sedative into her I.V. it was Oliver who she clung to as she slipped into sleep. "I remember."

"Part of what you were upset about was that you didn't think there would be anyone to pray for you if you died." He gulped heavily. "I pray that I go before you because I don't think I'd survive losing you, but if something were to happen to you I would want to be able to do that for you. If converting is the way I get to do that for you, then there is no choice to make."

"What did I do to deserve you?" She asked wiping tears from her eyes.

"You retrieved data from a bullet ridden laptop." He said as he kissed the tears from her cheeks.

"I love you, Oliver Queen. Let's get married."

"Soon."

"Soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> Up Next: Oliver is still keeping one big secret from Felicity. Will she be able to accept the truth when he finally reveals it?


	8. May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity helps Oliver mourn Moira and Tommy and to celebrate his 30th birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everyone who took the time to write to me. Part three of this series is now officially longer than parts one and two combined. I'm honored that so many of you who started this journey when I did have stuck with it. I would also like to welcome all my new readers who have been enthusiastic with your responses and confessed to binge reading this series. There is so much good fic out there and so many talented writers in this fandom and I'm touched that you choose to spend your time with my fic. Thank you to Like A Bird who always makes me smile when I hear from her. A big welcome back to Aii - you've been missed! Thank you to OhhMyyDarla, bpharoah, flailykermit, anna_saging, jucriscar, gigigirl31and yours_truly for all your wonderful comments throughout the series. The Laughing Duchess - thanks for reading this chapter when I could no longer tell up from down.
> 
> I decided to place the anniversary of Moira's death in May. I know the original episode aired in April, but with the last three episodes taking the place the over the day and night of Moira's funeral, I took some liberties and moved her death to May. 
> 
> This chapter is an absolute monster. There was so much I wanted to accomplish with Oscar, the Question and Amy in this chapter, but I also wanted to focus on the emotional lives of Oliver and Felicity because this is May and the month comes with a lot of angst for our heroes. I had to move a great deal of what I wrote in regards to the main mystery plot into the upcoming June chapter. I also had promised Oliver revealing another secret in this chapter, but it has been moved to June too. I hope you can forgive me.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

It was official. Felicity hated the month of May. The media had collectively lost their mind when the date on the calendar flipped to the first of May. If it wasn't bad enough that the Starling City news was obsessed with the anniversaries of the Undertaking and the Siege, they were also running stories about the lives and deaths of Tommy and Moira. Any story about Tommy or Moira inevitably led to Oliver, Thea, Robert and the Gambit. The twenty-four hour news channels were the worst. It seemed like everyone who had ever passed Oliver on the street was being interviewed about what a party boy he was and how Moira's involvement in the Undertaking was a moral failing and it wasn't surprising Oliver turned out the way he had. More photos and videos of Oliver between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two surfaced and the media was having a field day. Lots of nudity. Lots of drinking. Lots of drugs. Lots of women. She wanted to travel through time to find Ollie and punch him for causing Oliver so much pain now. No one focused on the work he was doing as CEO of QC and no one ever mentioned the Queen Foundation. The media speculated a lot about Felicity. It was universally agreed by the talking heads that while she wasn't hideous, Oliver could and had done a lot better and that their relationship had to be about business or that she was blackmailing him. To the world he remained an over privileged screw up and the life he was leading now as the CEO of QC and dating a certifiable genius were just a front to cover up what was clearly still a debauched lifestyle he was successfully keeping under wraps.

Oliver refused to respond to anything that was being said about him. The QC PR team begged him to allow them to release a statement on his behalf. He didn't want to detract from the victims of the Undertaking and the Siege and by making any attempt to defend himself he would be legitimizing himself as the rightful focus of the media coverage. He reasoned that the media would tire of the story as soon as the anniversaries passed and their lives would return to normal. Felicity and Thea had supported his decision, but Felicity decided to institute a full media blackout for the three of them. Felicity didn't see the point in torturing themselves by reading hurtful things. No television, radio, newspapers or social media were permitted until Diggle and Roy agreed that it was safe. The only exceptions Felicity permitted to the media blackout were for the newspapers devoted solely to business and finance. Oliver still had a company to run and its stock was currently taking a bit of a tumble due to all the salacious coverage of the Queens.

The paparazzi were relentless in their stalking of Oliver, Felicity and Thea. They couldn't go anywhere without being swarmed by at least twenty cameras. Oliver was no longer able to suit up for fear of someone in the press successfully trailing him to their secret location or spotting him in his hood. Felicity was forced to run operations for Roy and Dig from within the mansion while Oliver used his newly freed time to meet with Rabbi Finkel for his lessons.

So far, Roy had stayed under the media's radar and he was keeping his distance from Thea so he could stay in the field as Arsenal. With Thea finally in the loop, Oliver and Roy were relieved that they no longer had to come up with lies to explain their behavior. The only good news to come of all the unwanted publicity was that Oscar and the Bratva were steering clear of Starling.

Felicity was at her desk at QC ready to tear her hair out. Nothing was working out on her Bratva investigations. None of the names that Little Stevie had given her had popped on any of her continuously running facial recognition searches. If anyone showed their face in Starling, she would be notified immediately. No hits could be good news that no one was in town to kill Oliver or it could mean that Oscar was using someone unknown to them and was somewhere out there in the shadows waiting to take her fiancé out. She wasn't having any more luck with the Cyrillic code breaking software. Oliver had transcribed another ten hours of calls and the additional data hadn't proven to be of any use when she ran it through her software. No hits could mean that Amy Abbott was innocent, but Felicity knew in her gut that something was there and that the fault was in her code. She picked up her tablet and resumed her review. As the code scrolled across her screen she was overcome with guilt. She really should be reviewing marketing proposals for QC's new security software. The head of marketing was waiting for her sign off. She was about to pull up the marketing material when her cell rang. "Hey, Laurel."

"My boss is giving a press conference in twenty minutes. You and Oliver should watch. I have to run, I'm due before a judge in five."

Before Felicity could respond, the call dropped. With a sense of dread, Felicity pushed away from her desk to seek out Oliver.

"He's still in with the board." Dig said without looking up from the book he was reading in Oliver' office.

She dropped onto the sofa next to him and peered over his arm to see what he was reading. She decided he was getting a Kindle for his next birthday since paper books were so last millennia. He lifted the cover of the book so she could see. She rolled her eyes when she saw it was book on the history of the Russian mob. "You don't get enough of this every day? Why don't you read something distracting like George RR Martin or Harry Potter?"

Dig winked. "Know your enemy. Every army should understand who they are facing."

"When did we become an army?" Felicity asked sincerely.

He smiled warmly at her. "The minute you came down the foundry stairs covered in blood asking me to help you save Oliver."

"It seems like a lifetime ago." Felicity dropped her head onto his shoulder and covered her mouth when she yawned.

"Are you sleeping at all?" He asked with brotherly concern. "I know he's not."

She sighed. Before she and Oliver were dating there were very few secrets between the three of them. Each of them knew that whatever they told one would probably get back to the other, especially if it impacted the team in any way. Felicity knew that there were things Oliver had told Dig about his time away that she did not know. She was grateful that John was there to help ease Oliver's burden and to keep his confidences. She didn't mind that those stories remained between them. If and when Oliver was ready to share those stories, she'd be there to listen, but for now, it was enough that Dig was. She realized that Dig had phrased his question so that she would in no way need to betray the confidences she had with Oliver now that they shared a bed.

The truth was that he'd been plagued with nightmares for the past nine nights. Some nights, he woke screaming with her name on his lips. On those nights she could comfort him with soothing words and the loving embrace of her body. On the nights when his mom, Tommy or the names of people she didn't recognize were torn from his lips in agonizing cries, he didn't wake easily. Those nightmares held him in an iron grip and wouldn't free him from whatever horror his mind forced him to relive. Felicity knew not to touch him on these nights. She was forced to retreat to the foot of their bed and call his name and tell him he was safe and that she loved him. On the nights he screamed for his mother or Tommy, Thea would share her vigil from the doorway of their room. She would stand with her fist in her mouth to keep from sobbing aloud as she watched her brother writhe in torment. When he woke from these nightmares, it was Thea's arms he sought for comfort. Felicity would leave the siblings alone in their grief and she would await the dawn curled up in a window seat in the kitchen drinking her first pot of coffee of the day. On the nights when he called out in languages she didn't understand and spoke unfamiliar names he would wake drenched in sweat, trembling and gasping for air. Those nights were the worst because he would refuse the comfort she offered. He would recoil from her touch and the look of shame that clouded his face tore through her heart like a knife. He would dress in his running clothes and disappear onto the grounds of the estate. She would watch him from their bedroom window until the darkness swallowed him and then she would retreat to their bathroom. She would fill the tub with water as hot as she could tolerate and she would then sob until the water chilled and her fingers shriveled.

"He's worried that you're tired because his nightmares are keeping you awake." Dig squeezed her hand. "He's afraid he's scaring you."

Felicity sucked in a sharp breath. "John, I'm not afraid of him. I've never been afraid of him."

Dig smiled and seemed to get lost in a memory. "When you stood up to him on your very first official night on the team and walked out, I knew then that you were the girl for him. You were just what he needed. I just didn't' know if he was the guy for you or what you needed."

Curious, she asked. "And now?"

"He awoke something in you. You're still you and yet you've transformed in front of my eyes. You're more confident, stronger and brighter, somehow." He laughed. "Although, I really miss the babbling."

She groaned. "I still babble."

"Yes, but not the kind that makes you turn beet red and count down from three. Those were my favorite." He teased.

"He wants to sleep in another room until the nightmares stop." The words tumbled out of her unexpectedly, but she felt relief having said them.

"What do you want?"

She clutched the engagement ring she wore around her neck and hidden beneath her blouse. They hadn't told anyone they were engaged. They didn't want to overshadow Diggle and Lyla's big day in June and they thought the press would say it was a publicity stunt if their announcement coincided with the tragic May anniversaries. "I want to help him," she said as traitorous tears began to slide down her cheeks, "but he won't talk to me about the dreams." She took a deep breath. "I don't want him sleeping in another room. I want him to talk to me."

"Did you tell him that?"

"Of course I did. I told him if he moves to another room, I'll just follow him, but when I ask him to talk, he just shuts down." She clasped Dig's hand between her own. "I don't know what to do. What should I do?" Dig pulled a freshly pressed handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She couldn't help but laugh as she removed her glasses so she could dab her eyes. "I think you only carry these for me."

He watched her dry her tears as he tried to find the right words. "I still have nightmares about my time in Afghanistan. If we have a bad night in the field, I expect them to come, but sometimes I don't know what brings them on. I killed a lot of people during my time overseas. Killing people, even your enemies, breaks off little pieces of yourself. One day, Lyla and I were escorting a real scumbag. He was a terrorist, but the government said he was our ally. We were ambushed and ended up in a fire fight. Even with all the chaos, I knew which men my bullets took out." His eyes drifted to the windows and Felicity knew he was back in Afghanistan. She reached for his hand and squeezed. "I killed a boy who wasn't old enough to shave, but old enough to hold a gun." John held his hands out in front of him with his palms facing away. He turned them slowly so he was looking at his palms. "When I hold Sara in these hands, I know everything I did with them then and everything I do with you and Oliver now is so she won't ever have to pick up a gun and live with knowing what it is to take someone's life. Dreams of the dead are the price I pay." Dig ran his hands over his head. "All I can tell you is that he needs you. He needs to remember what he's fighting for. Don't let him hide from you. He's stubborn, but so are you." Dig gently held her chin so he could look her in the eyes. "I know how much you love him, but you can't help him if you wear yourself out. Sometimes you need to be selfish in order to help someone else. You put your oxygen mask on first - do you understand?"

Felicity nodded her head and then threw her arms around his neck. "I love you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Her cell phone chimed with an incoming text from Oliver.

_O: Rescue Me!_

_O: Please..._

_O: I beg you_

Felicity rolled her eyes and then checked the time.

_F: You're in luck. I need you to step into your office. DA giving press conference._

Less than thirty seconds later, Oliver stepped through his conference room door and into his office. He looked tired. Not just physically, but emotionally too. He'd spent the wee hours of the morning running through the woods surrounding the mansion before he spent an hour sparring with Diggle. It took him a moment to realize something was amiss. He purposefully strode across the office and cupped her face between his hands. "Hey, are you okay?"

Breaking her office hours rule, she stood up on her toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. I'm fine." She saw the silent question in his eyes and kissed him gently. "I promise."

"It was my fault." Dig offered. "We were reminiscing."

Oliver raised a brow, unconvinced by their story. He was about to speak, but Felicity cut him off. "How's the meeting going?" She asked as she moved to his desk chair and pulled up Channel 52's streaming video feed.

Oliver stood over her shoulder. "Everyone agrees the stock will rebound once the anniversaries pass. Now they're discussing the necessity for me to make myself available to the media."

She frowned. "What do they want you to do?"

"They are debating on whether I should do a personal puff piece or something more business related. I'll tell you later." He redirected her attention to the monitor. "Turn up the volume."

Oliver and Dig stood on either side of Felicity and listened with rapt attention as the DA announced that a Grand Jury had sent down multiple indictments for the Chief Building Inspector and two of his deputies, as well as the Chief Arson Investigator. In addition to the civil servants, a half dozen owners of construction firms were also being charged with bribery and manslaughter for the knowing use of faulty building materials. Arrest warrants had been issued and the police were in the process of serving them. Felicity turned off the sound just as Vic Sage appeared on camera to summarize what the DA had said.

"Holy frack." Felicity said, breaking their stunned silence, as she spun her chair around to stand up. "I never thought the DA would act on any of the stuff we turned over to Laurel. Way to go us."

"How quick do you think it will be before someone flips on the Bratva?" Dig asked Oliver.

He shrugged and looked at his watch. "Depends how quick the first defense lawyer shows up."

"Is it over?" Felicity asked with cautious optimism.

Oliver shook his head and replied honestly. "I don't know. I think we don't need to worry too much more about the building materials. The city and the media have everything they need to act and put pressure on the right people. Oscar may not be such an easy resolution."

Felicity looked between her partners and was unhappy to see them both looking hesitant. "We need a win, so I'm declaring this a win." She patted both men on the chest. "Yay, team."

Oliver smiled. "Okay, today is a win." He extended his hand to Dig and they shook. He did the same with Felicity. "Nice work, both of you. Somebody should call Roy."

"Speaking of work," Felicity turned him to face the conference room, "it's time for the CEO to get back in there before they have you scheduled to appear on ET or the cover of People."

With his hand on the conference room door he turned and grinned at her. Felicity beamed right back at him. He looked energized. Maybe this was the good news they needed to chase away the demons haunting him at night. As the door closed behind him, she decided to send Laurel a large bouquet of flowers for all of her help.

VVVVV

The smell of freshly mowed lawn had just become Felicity's arch nemesis. She was wrinkling her nose and rubbing the tip of it in an attempt to stave off a sneeze. Roy was standing next to her and was shooting her a look that said, "Come on, Blondie. Show a little decorum."

Roy and Felicity were standing five feet back from Oliver and Thea who were standing in front of Moira's grave. Thea was tucked into Oliver's side with her arms wrapped around his waist and her face pressed into his chest. Oliver rubbed slow circles against her back and spoke softly to her.

Felicity wasn't Moira's biggest fan Her need to keep secrets from her children and Walter had caused all of them so much pain and suffering. If only she'd trusted Oliver with the Undertaking, maybe they could've defeated Malcolm Merlyn without any loss of life. Of course, Felicity still harbored her own guilt about Merlyn detecting her breach of his servers and her missing the fact that there was a second Markov device. If only Moira had told Oliver. If only Felicity gotten out of Merlyn's server clean. If only Laurel had listened to Oliver and her dad and stayed away from CNRI. If only Tommy was ten seconds earlier. If only. If only. Two small words that when put together could paralyze anyone with regret. Felicity shook her head. The responsibility for the Undertaking belonged on the head of one man and one man only, Malcolm Merlyn.

A small sob from Thea had Felicity returning to the present. She tried to think of some good things about Moira. She was standing at her grave watching the man she loved grieve, the least she could do was think nice thoughts. _Nice thoughts. Nice thoughts. Surely, I can think of at least one nice thing to say. Hi, Mrs. Queen. It's me, Felicity. Felicity Smoak. I know it's kind of weird that I'm talking to you in my head, but you're dead and talking to you in my head isn't any more crazy than talking out loud. Maybe you're out there somewhere and can hear me. You probably don't want to hear from me at all, so I'll try to keep it brief. I know you weren't my biggest fan and you're probably not happy that Oliver and I are getting married, but I wanted to tell you, thank you. Thank you for Oliver. He loves me and makes me happy. I want you to know that I love him too and I think I make him happy. I promise I'm going to be the best wife I can be and to love him the way he deserves. I promise to love Thea and to look out for her. You loved your children fiercely and they're blessed to know how much you loved them. Well, I guess that's it. Mostly, thank you. Oh, and your hair always looked amazing. Like perfect, all the time._

Thea stepped out of Oliver's embrace. She placed her hand on her mom's headstone and knelt to rearrange the flowers she'd picked from the mansion's garden that morning. She stood when Roy placed his hand on her shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they began walking in the direction of Tommy's grave.

Oliver stretched his hand back without looking. Felicity was immediately at his side and laced her fingers through his. "I can't believe she's been gone for a year. The five years away felt like an eternity, but this year," his voice drifted away and he took a deep breath. "I miss her and God do I wish I could've seen her face when I told her I was marrying you." He winked at her.

Felicity laughed. "You think that's bad. What would she have looked like when you told her you're converting?"

Oliver laughed and pulled her into a tight hug. "I know you two didn't get along, but I think if she got to know you like I do and she saw how much you love me and what great care you take of me, she would've seen you the way I do. She would've loved you and been proud of you." He kissed the top of her head. "Let's go see Tommy."

Felicity reached into her purse and pulled out two smooth river stones. She held out her open palm to show him. "I know your mom wasn't Jewish, but we have a tradition. We place a stone on top of the headstone every time we visit. It signifies that we remember and that they are with us even though they're gone." She shrugged. "I don't know, it makes me feel connected to the people I've lost. I took these from her rose garden."

Oliver took one of the stones from her hand and placed it on Moira's headstone. He bowed his head and flattened his palm across her name. Felicity placed her stone next to Oliver's and put her arm around his waist. He turned and kissed her gently. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She laid her head against his chest.

"I love you." He whispered.

She pressed her palm against his heart. "I love you."

He laced his fingers through hers. "Did you bring stones for Tommy?"

"Of course. I made Dig drive me to Rockets Stadium." She pulled two white stones from her purse.

"You got rocks from Rockets Stadium?" He asked in amazement as he took one of the stones from her hand.

Felicity had remembered the stories Oliver told her about summers growing up and how many happy memories consisted of Tommy and his dad watching baseball games. Dig knew one of the player's bodyguards and he'd arranged for her to enter the stadium. She took the stones from the Walkway of Legends - where all the retired numbers were displayed. "No, Oliver, from the strip club across the street." When he looked at her with surprise and a blush spreading across his cheeks she smiled. "Of course from Rockets Stadium. If you want to look for stones from strip clubs for your next visit to Tommy, you're on your own." Oliver barked out a laugh and draped his arms across her shoulders as they followed after Roy and Thea.

VVVVV

The sixteenth of May was Oliver's thirtieth birthday and Felicity was determined that he was going to start this decade of his life in celebration. With few exceptions, his twenties were filled with a whole lot of suck. She was determined to fill his thirties with love and more good than bad experiences. Oliver was reluctant to celebrate, but Felicity insisted. When she brought up the cabin by the lake he'd told her about at her mom's funeral, he agreed to go away. She suspected it was less to do with wanting to celebrate his birthday and more about getting her and Thea out of town and away from the media circus. Roy, Thea, Lyla, little Sara and John were joining them. They'd extended an offer to the Lance sisters. Laurel declined. Work was too busy and she felt the need to stick close to her AA meetings. She confided in Felicity that the closer the anniversary of Tommy's death came the more she wanted to crawl back inside a bottle. Felicity hadn't heard back from Sara. She hoped that wherever she was, she was safe.

Thea had the cabin's caretaker prepare the house and stock the pantry and fridge under Raisa's direction. Raisa had offered to cook for them, but Thea and Felicity decided that they were going to brave it and cook for everyone. Roy muttered something about he and Oliver needing to be brave to eat Thea's cooking. That comment earned him a slap on the back of the head from Raisa.

They devised a plan to elude the media. They had no desire to bring the circus with them into the mountains. Roy drove an SUV with Oliver, Thea and Felicity hunched along the floor boards. Roy was followed by Oliver's silver Porsche that was being driven by one of the security guards that most resembled Oliver and one of the maids wearing her blonde hair in a ponytail and a pair of glasses. The plan was for Roy and the SUV to part the paparazzi so 'Oliver' could zip through fast enough for the cameras to think they were seeing Oliver and Felicity leave for work and give chase. It would take three miles before the Porsche came to a stop sign where the press could catch up and realize they'd been chasing the wrong vehicle. By that time, it would be too late. For once, their plan went off without a hitch and they were quickly on the road leading away from the ocean and into the mountains.

Four hours later they pulled in front of the Queen family cabin. Roy let out a whistle and Felicity nodded in agreement. "You Queens really need to learn the definition of the word cabin." Roy said as he stopped the car in front of an eight car garage.

Thea grinned. "You finish your first semester of college and you're already bragging about your book learning." Roy laughed. Even though Thea was teasing, Felicity knew how proud she was of her boyfriend. He'd taken his last final the day before and Roy told them on the drive to the cabin that he was confident he was going to be bringing home good grades.

Felicity couldn't agree more with Roy's observation as she stepped out of the back of the SUV. The cabin was enormous. Not as big as the mansion, but it was definitely a mansion in its own right. "Just because a house is sided with wood instead of stone, you don't get to call it a cabin." Felicity teased Oliver.

"I'm pretty sure there's a shed somewhere on the property that you and Roy are more than welcome to stay in." Thea said as she breezed by them to open the front door.

"I'm pretty sure the shed is probably nicer than my place." Roy said as he followed after Thea.

"And cleaner too." Thea responded.

Oliver rolled his eyes in feigned exasperation at the younger couple. "There's still time for us to go somewhere else. We could be alone." He wagged his eyebrows at her as he pulled her flush against his chest. "I'm sure I could find us a place that fits your idea of a cabin."

She smiled. "As tempting as that is, I don't think John would forgive us." As if on cue, Dig pulled up alongside them. Lyla was sitting in the backseat with a very awake Sara who started to wave excitedly as soon as she saw Oliver. He moved to help Lyla out of the vehicle and she immediately handed him a cooing Sara. "We're not even married yet and you're already chasing after a younger woman."

"What do you say, Sara?" Do you want to run away with me?" Oliver asked as he pretended to eat the fingers Sara was sticking into his mouth. She let out a sweet giggle.

Dig began to pat down his side like he was looking for something he misplaced. "Honey, where'd you pack my glock?"

"Don't be too hasty, Johnny. He is a billionaire." Lyla said with a straight face.

"You don't love me for my money, isn't that right?" Oliver asked Sara as she patted his scruff and giggled.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of." Dig opened the back of his SUV and began to pull their luggage out. "That Queen charms works a little too well for my liking."

"Don't worry. You're my favorite." Lyla patted his bottom before she lifted a diaper bag out from the back.

"Yeah, Dig. You're my favorite too." Roy appeared out of nowhere and patted Dig's butt. "Holy smokes," winking at Felicity, "how much crap does one baby need?" He asked as he pulled a portable crib out of the trunk.

"You have no idea." John said as he pulled a high chair out.

Felicity took Sara from Oliver. "Okay boys. Why don't you unload the cars while us girls go see what Thea is up to."

Lyla and Felicity headed towards the house when Roy called out after them. "Hey, Blondie. I thought we were a team of equal partners."

She smiled sweetly at him. "We are, but I'm the brains of this partnership and the three of you are the muscle."

Lyla linked her arm through Felicity's. "We're going to have so much fun."

"Maybe the three of us should go looking for that shed. We're out numbered." Roy muttered.

"Hmph." Oliver grunted. "That might not be a bad idea."

vvvvv

The soft early morning light drifted through the sheer curtains and slowly moved across the floor and onto the bed. Felicity woke slowly and stretched her arms in search of Oliver. She sat up when she realized his side of the bed was empty. The unfamiliar surroundings had her disoriented and she reached for her glasses. Once her world was back in focus she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized Oliver had passed a night without having a nightmare. It was definitely the right choice to get out of Starling for a few days.

There was a slight chill in the air and she pulled the henley Oliver had worn the day before on over her tank top. After brushing her teeth and her hair enough so she wouldn't scare anyone she followed her nose to the kitchen. Diggle was sitting at the kitchen table feeding Sara in her high chair. Felicity dropped a kiss on the top of Sara's head and then onto Dig's. "Bless you, maker of the morning coffee."

He chuckled. "You can thank, Sara. Someone decided to wake up at five this morning." Felicity began to fix her cup of coffee when she spotted Oliver stretching on the dock. She looked around the room for a clock. The display on the microwave said 6:30. As if reading her mind, John supplied, "I saw him head out around five when I took Sara from her crib. He's been stretching for about ten minutes."

Felicity frowned. "No nightmares last night, but he ran," she quickly calculated the mileage based on his usual six minute mile, "at least thirteen miles. He shouldn't be pushing himself when he's this tired."

"Running is like meditation for him. Focus on, no nightmares. That's good." Dig said wisely.

She straightened her shoulders. "Right. No nightmares. That's a good thing."

She grabbed a sports bottle and filled it with room temperature water. Oliver preferred room temperature water after a workout because he could drink it faster. Felicity took Oliver's water and her coffee and made her way down to the dock.

The path from the back porch to the dock was lined with lush flower beds and a thick well manicured lawn was dotted with colorful Adirondack chairs. As she traversed the winding path she took a moment to sip her coffee and to admire the cabin that once belonged to the Dearden side of Oliver's family. It had been given to Moira as a wedding present. She laughed when she thought how when she marries Oliver the Smoak family contribution to the Queen real estate holdings will be a rusting double wide trailer parked somewhere in the Nevada desert. Oliver had told Felicity that when Thea married, he would sign over his half of the house to her. "This, so isn't a cabin," she said to a squirrel as it scampered by.

A canoe bobbed in the lake causing water to slosh up over the floating dock. Her flip flops thwacked against the wood, so she knew Oliver heard her approaching. He kept his back to her as he stared out across the lake. She stepped behind him and wrapped the arm holding the water bottle around his stomach. He took her offering and chugged the entire bottle as she rested her forehead against his spine.

"Thank you," he said with a grin as he turned in her arms. He kissed her slowly and pulled her tightly against him.

"You're really sweaty," she said as he started to nibble her neck. "Thirteen miles?" She tried to ask nonchalantly.

"Just about." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I'm starving. What's for breakfast?"

"Un-uh, mister." She wrinkled her nose. "You're showering first. Then breakfast."

"Only if you join me." His lips softly brushed against hers.

She pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. "I think that can be arranged." She gently tugged him back towards the house. It wasn't until they were on firm ground that she noticed he was favoring his right knee. "You're limping."

He squeezed her hand. "It's fine. I'll ice it while we're eating breakfast."

"That knee will last longer if you switch to a low impact cardio routine. Running thirteen miles isn't doing it any favors."

"I'm not using an elliptical or a stationary bike. They make me claustrophobic. " He complained for what could easily be the hundredth time.

She parroted back her typical response to his objection."Yes, but you could watch TV while you get your heart rate up and not need total knee replacement surgery before you're even thirty-five." When she looked up at him she was expecting to see his grumpy face, instead he was wearing a huge smile. "What?" She asked as she ran her hand through her hair and looked to see if she'd spilled coffee down his henley.

"Nothing." His smile grew wider. "I just realized that we're probably going to be having this fight for the rest of our lives."

She shook her head in disbelief. "And that makes you smile?"

"It makes me happy that I'm going to have you looking out for me and I couldn't ask for anything better than that."

Her eyes welled with happy tears. "Kiss me quick before I start blubbering."

He took the coffee cup from her hands and spilled its remaining contents into a flower bed. He scooped her up into a bridal carry and said, "Hold onto me tight."

Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck as he captured her bottom lip between his own. He walked them through the flower beds, across the lawn, into the house where he handed Dig her mug, up the stairs through their bedroom into their bathroom where he turned on the shower. All without his lips ever leaving hers. He lowered her to her feet in order to strip them of their clothes. "Any more complaints about my cardio routine?"

She peered up at him over the rims of her frames. "No one likes a show off, Oliver." She squealed in delight as he picked her back up and walked them into the shower.

vvvvv

Felicity and Oliver returned to the kitchen at nine. Roy and Thea were busily making breakfast as Lyla and Dig played with Sara on the living room floor.

"Smells good." Oliver said as he sat down at the head of the kitchen table and rested his right leg on another chair.

Felicity prepared an ice pack for his leg and gently placed it on his knee. "You guys need any help?"

"Nope, we've got it." Thea said brightly. Noticing Oliver's leg she smiled. "Turning thirty and you're already falling apart. You're so old."

Oliver shook his head. "Nice, Speedy. Just wait until you turn thirty and we'll see how funny you find it."

"That's okay," she laughed. "When I'm thirty you'll be pushing forty, old man."

Oliver groaned as Dig said, "Hey, stop picking on forty. It's not that old."

Felicity laughed and turned back to Thea and Roy ready to pile on when she noticed that Roy had gone still and was staring at Oliver's leg.

Oliver noticed it too. "Hey, Roy." The younger man's eyes snapped to Oliver's. "This is not your fault."

"What?" Thea asked with confusion. "You hurt that knee in a motorcycle accident with Sara." She looked between Roy and Oliver. "Which of course is not how you hurt your knee at all." She shook her head in disbelief. "Wow, how didn't I catch on sooner? You were always falling off your bike. No one is that careless."

Felicity shared a knowing look with Dig. They used to spend hours in the foundry trying to come up with the most ridiculous reasons to explain Oliver's various vigilante related injuries in an attempt to get a rise out of him. "Falling off his bike was a better excuse than a sex related injury." She popped a grape into her mouth and winked at Oliver.

Thea grinned. "I would've believed that too." Turning back to Roy she asked, "So, if my bro didn't hurt his knee on his bike, did you totally kick his ass while you were training. Please, tell me you have video."

Roy's jaw flexed. "I did it while I was juiced up on Mirakuru. I was rampaging through the city and Oliver tried to stop me. I took out his knee." He hung his head. "It was the same night that I killed the cop."

Oliver, Dig and Felicity's heads whipped to Roy in surprise. They hadn't expected that Roy had shared that information with Thea. Thea swallowed heavily and when she reached for him, Roy stormed out of the house.

"Roy" Oliver called. "Damn it. I can't believe you're going to make me chase you." He growled as he removed the ice pack and hobbled out onto the porch to follow his apprentice.

Felicity rubbed soothing circles on Thea's back as they watched Oliver and Roy walk across the lawn. Oliver made a subtle gesture and Dig left the house to join them. Dig placed a hand on each man's shoulder and lowered his head to, no doubt, say something sagely. "Don't worry," Felicity said to Thea and Lyla, "our guys always figure it out."

vvvvv

The group was seated around the kitchen table enjoying one another's company after finishing the meal they'd prepared together for Oliver's birthday. The men had spent the afternoon smoking meat on the grill while Felicity had baked a cake and Thea and Lyla worked on veggie sides and a salad. Felicity slowly sipped a glass of red wine while Dig regaled Thea, Lyla and Roy with an early Team Arrow story. "Oliver got delayed by Merlyn so I had to go rescue her from security by saying that, Barbie, over there, was one of Tommy's latest bimbos who couldn't take no for an answer."

"Always my hero." Felicity said as she remembered how afraid she'd been and how relieved she felt when Dig came around the corner to save her.

"Barbie? Why didn't I think of that?" Roy smirked.

"If you value your life, you'll never think of it again." Felicity groused. She barely tolerated Blondie. There was no way she was going to permit him to start calling her Barbie.

"I can't believe the three of you were on a mission that day." Thea said. "When I ran into you at Merlyn Global that day, I totally believed you had been there seeing Tommy."

"I was there to see Tommy." Oliver smiled at Felicity. "She was the one doing all the work that day."

"If you call clinging to you as we swung across an elevator shaft work." Felicity winked. "It was my first Tarzan experience."

"You almost vomited on me." Oliver teased.

"It's not every day a girl learns she's terrified of heights." She gazed at him like they were the only two in the room.

"Oh, God. How'd you put up with this for so long?" Thea inquired of Dig. "They're so nauseating."

"You have no idea." Dig and Roy said together.

"I'm not apologizing." Oliver said as he leaned over and kissed Felicity.

Felicity tossed a grape tomato at Dig. "You're one to complain, I had to listen to you be all moony about Lyla."

"Moony?" Lyla asked with delight. "Do tell."

"I was not moony." Dig said defensively.

Felicity tucked her chin to her chest and lowered her voice. "Lyla's in town. Should I call her? Should I take her to dinner? What should I wear? Do I need a haircut?" Everyone at the table, save Dig, started to laugh. "Lyla said the smartest thing. Lyla's so pretty. Lyla smells so good."

"I don't sound like that." The whole table erupted in laughter.

"I think it's sweet." Lyla took Dig's hand. "I like that you still get moony about me after all this time."

"Always." He smiled and kissed her hand.

"I'd marry any guy who broke into a Russian prison to rescue me." Felicity said with a wistful smile.

"What?" Thea asked wide eyed. "I have to hear this story."

"After dessert." Dig said. "Isn't it time for cake?"

Everyone helped to clear the table and they were quickly ready for dessert. "Oh, Roy, get the champagne out of the fridge." Thea instructed as she pulled flutes out of the cupboard. She expertly popped the cork and filled the glasses. "A toast to my big brother." They all lifted their glasses. "Ollie, I'm so glad I got you back. You're the best big brother a girl could ask for. Happy Birthday."

"Happy Birthday." The group said, clinking their glasses together.

"I'm not great with expressing my feelings." Roy said sheepishly. "Oliver, you saved me. You gave me a future, a purpose and a life I'm proud of. Happy Birthday."

Oliver clasped Roy's shoulder. "Thank you."

"You reminded Johnny of who he was and gave him something to fight for. I think we have you to thank for giving us a second chance at being a family." Lyla kissed Oliver's cheek. "Happy Birthday, Oliver."

Dig cleared his throat. "When your mom hired me to be your bodyguard, I assumed I was getting stuck babysitting another spoiled rich kid. I'm happy to say that I've never been more wrong in my life." Oliver chuckled. "I thought if I were ever to get married again, Andy would stand up for me." Dig swallowed heavily. "I never thought I'd be so lucky to find another brother. How do you feel about being my best man?"

"I feel pretty good about it." Oliver said seriously. Both men laughed as Dig held out his hand and Oliver pulled him into a hug.

Felicity wiped the tears from her eyes as she watched her guys have their moment. "I guess that leaves me for last, which is pretty dangerous considering my propensity to talk especially when it comes to how I feel about you." Felicity took a deep breath. "You've changed so many people's lives for the better, including mine. Just look around this room and see what a difference you've made and how much you're loved. You opened my heart in a way I didn't even know was possible. I love you." Oliver put his glass down and took Felicity's face between his hands and kissed her for all he was worth. When they pulled a part, they were both blushing.

Felicity lit all thirty one candles on the cake and the group sang an enthusiastic, if out of tune, happy birthday. For a man who had resisted celebrating his birthday, Oliver appeared to be happy. He closed his eyes and a smile split his face before he blew out the candles to a rousing round of applause.

Oliver cleared his throat. "I'd like to say something." He said as he stared at the ceiling, trying to gather his thoughts. "I honestly never thought I'd live to see thirty, even after I made it back home. I thought I was going to die my first year back and I was okay with that, but then I met you," he said to Dig."You kept me alive and you kept me honest, but more than that you were the first one to really pull me off the island and make me realize I'd made it home. And then, I had someone looking up to me," he said to Roy, "who thought I was a hero and not someone to be feared and you made me want to be better too." He wiped his eyes and smiled at Thea. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be proud of me. I was such a terrible role model before the island and when I came home, I didn't know how to be what you needed. I thought about you every day I was away and dreamed about all the things I wanted to say to you if I ever got home. I am so proud to be your brother. I love you so much." Thea threw herself into his arms. Both Lyla and Felicity wiped tears from their eyes. When Thea let him go, he turned to his fiancé and he shook his head. "Felicity. I don't even know where to begin." He held his hands out to her and she took them. "The whole time I was away, I could never really trust anyone and when you live like that for so long you start to see people as threats or targets. When I came home, I really couldn't turn that off and then I walked into your office. You were the first person I saw as a person." He smiled at her. "There was just something about you."

Even with tears in her eyes, she couldn't help roll them. She had thoroughly embarrassed herself the first time she met him. It was hard to believe that less than three years after that first meeting they were engaged."I was chewing on a pen."

His eyes became moist. "It was red."

"Oliver." She gasped in surprise. It took a lot for Felicity to be surprised, but hearing that Oliver had been as effected by their first meeting as she was took her breath away.

"I love you." He pulled her into his arms.

"Are you going to finally admit that the two of you are engaged now?" Dig asked.

"What?" Felicity said pulling away from Oliver. "We're not engaged."

"Mmmh." Dig said as he touched his finger to the chain she wore around her neck before he tugged it out of her shirt. "I suppose this isn't what Oliver hacked my computer password to search for."

Thea shrieked in excitement. She gently lifted the chain to get a closer look at the ring. "Nice work, Ollie." She grinned up at Felicity. "I cannot wait to plan this wedding. It's going to be epic."

Felicity's eyes widened in horror. "We haven't even set a date." She looked at Oliver for support. "I also think we're aiming for something a bit less than epic."

Thea gave her a mischievous smile. "You're the bride. Whatever you want will do, but I'm totally going to be your wedding coordinator." She then smacked her brother on the chest. "I can't believe you got engaged and didn't tell me."

"We wanted to wait until after Dig and Lyla were married." Felicity said coming to his defense.

"Why?" Lyla asked.

"We didn't want to steal your thunder." Felicity offered in way of explanation. "With everything going on in the press, we didn't want to add to the frenzy and take anything away from you guys."

Dig pulled her into a hug. "There is always room for more good news. I just want the both of you to be happy. You deserve it." He then pulled Oliver into a hug. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Oliver said. "How do you feel about being my best man?"

Dig pulled out of Oliver's arms and smiled. "I feel pretty good about it."

VVVVV

The late afternoon sun and smell of coffee felt comforting. Felicity had her face angled towards the sun, her head back and eyes closed as she basked in the sun's warmth as she waited for her lunch companion in a small cafe not far from QC. It was nice to have a moment to herself, to be quiet and relax. The paparazzi had finally backed off after the anniversaries and she felt like she was getting her life back. She'd spent the morning with her old boss, Dr. Hamilton, discussing an idea she and Ray Palmer had for a joint venture involving Palmer Technology's Smart Wearables, the doctor's research on neurological interfaces and QC's artificial limb design. Dig had gotten the Queen Foundation involved with some veteran charities and Oliver had become interested in finding better solutions for the wounded vets he'd been spending time with. Felicity was hoping that her idea would one day be successful in giving both soldiers and civilians back the dexterity and flexibility of lost limbs. It felt good to be thinking about big ideas that could help make people's lives better instead of worrying about the Bratva or the press.

"You're cute." A familiar squeaky voice said. "Is that seat taken?"

Felicity opened her eyes and smiled. "Yes, but I have to warn you, I have a boyfriend."

"I like competition." Sara laughed as she pulled the baseball cap from her head and sat down across from Felicity. "How is Ollie? I'm sorry I missed his birthday."

"Same as the rest of us, too much work, not enough sleep." Her words reminded her that she'd only gotten four hours of sleep and she took a long sip of her coffee. The prior night had been a busy one for Team Arrow. "We were sorry you couldn't join us for his birthday. It was fun and surprisingly relaxing. Are you in town for work?" She tried to ask casually.

"Nyssa and I have a little work to do, but mostly we're here on vacation." Sara said cryptically from behind her menu.

"Speaking of Nyssa, where is your scarier half?"

Sara laughed. "She is out with Laurel. They were going to lunch and then shopping."

The thought of Starling City's ADA out for a girl's day with a lethal assassin made her giggle. "When did that happen?"

Sara shrugged. "Who knows, but they're buddies now, which is a lot better than them hating each other. I will deny ever telling you this, but Nyssa is a real girlie girl. I'm relieved to have someone else spend hours shopping with her instead of me. I'll start to worry when Nyssa and my dad start going to ballgames together."

"And here is me thinking that one of the benefits of being in a relationship with another woman would be to have a shopping companion who doesn't look like he's contemplating pulling the fire alarm."

"I can't imagine Ollie sitting patiently outside of the dressing room holding your purse. Although, if he could go inside the changing room with you he might find the incentive he needs to be patient." Sara winked with a lascivious grin.

Felicity shuddered. "I'm pretty sure if Oliver joined me in the dressing room your father would have to arrest us for public indecency."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Sara stuck her tongue out. "Well, not the first time for Ollie." Both women laughed and looked back at their menus. "So, I visited with Ollie this morning. He seemed very happy." Sara smirked. "I don't think I've seen him show that many teeth since we left on the Gambit. What's going on?"

Felicity did her best not to blush. Her engagement ring was nestled between her breasts and the thought of it made her smile. Oliver was calling their PR team today to give them a head start on planning for the wedding media circus. "We're just happy," she answered truthfully as she slowly revealed the ring worn around her neck, "and we're going to get married."

"I'm glad," Sara said sincerely. "You both deserve all the happiness you can grab." She watched Felicity tuck the ring back below her blouse. "Is there a reason you're not wearing your ring?"

"We don't want to share it with the world yet, just the people we love." Felicity reached across the table and took Sara's hand. "You're okay with this, right? We never talked about what happened between you guys and then between us. I know Oliver and I've been together for months now, but this is different. I don't want things to be awkward."

Sara held Felicity's hand tightly and smiled. "I love Ollie, but I'm not in love with him. I never was and neither was he. I want the both of you to be happy and it makes me happy that you found each other."

"Thank you." Felicity wiped a tear from her eye and went back to looking at her menu. "I'm starved. Maybe I'll get something with carbs or cheese or carbs and cheese." They really needed to solve their Oscar problem before she started a diet consisting entirely of comfort food.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Don't let the tabloids make you crazy. You're beautiful no matter what they say. Besides, your ass is amazing."

"Sara," Felicity hissed.

"Trust me. Nyssa and I both agree on it." Sara tried to say with a straight face.

"I can't believe you're reading the Starling City tabloids while you're out," Felicity's hand gestured vaguely, "there."

"Watching targets is pretty boring, I need something to entertain me and how else am I supposed to find out that you're plotting to marry and then murder Ollie for his money." The blonde said without looking up from her menu. "Congratulations about putting step one of your evil plan into motion."

Felicity flinched when Sara said murder. The waitress interrupted them to take their order, but Felicity's mood had shifted. "Hey, I was only teasing. What's going on?" Sara asked with concern. "You were all smiles and now you're really worried about something. What kind of trouble did he get himself into this time?"

Felicity shook her head. "This time, I got him into trouble and I don't know how we're going to get out of it."

"I'm listening." Sara said and listen she did. Felicity started with her mom's death, her trip to Vegas and Oliver's deal with the Bratva. She then caught Sara up on all the faulty building materials and the drugs, weapons and humans being trafficked through Starling by Oscar. Felicity went on to explain the hit Oscar demanded Oliver make on the Arrow and how someone else had been hired to do the same. Sara nodded as she listened to the long story as they ate their lunch. She only asked for further details on the accident on the bridge with the trailer containing the dead women. Their table was cleared and the two women sat and stared at one another in complete silence. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that."

Felicity suddenly felt guilty for burdening her friend who clearly had enough on her own plate. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have unloaded all of that on you."

"Why didn't you tell me this was going on? I just saw you." Sara wasn't angry but she seemed more than a little exasperated with Felicity.

Felicity began to worry the cloth napkin between her fingers. "We didn't want to worry you and you seem to be going through your own thing."

Sara reached across the table and took Felicity's hand. "If you're in trouble, there is never too much going on, okay?"

Felicity squeezed her friend's hand. "Thank you." The waitress dropped the check onto the table with a smile.

Sara returned the ball cap to her head and put on a pair of mirrored aviator shades. "Put some of that crazy Smoak-Queen money on the table and lets go have a talk with your stubborn idiot of a fiancé."

Felicity and Sara stepped out of the restaurant and began to walk the six blocks back to QC. Felicity was checking out a pair of shoes in a store window when Sara grabbed her arm and pulled her quickly into step behind here. "Call my dad. Tell him there's been an assault."

Felicity reached for her phone without hesitation. "What's going on?"

Before Sara could respond, Jimmy Roman stepped out of a doorway. "Oscar would like to have a word with you."

Felicity straightened her back and looked Jimmy in the eyes as she blindly called Captain Lance on her cell. "Well, he should call my assistant and make an appointment."

"He's making an appointment now," Jimmy sneered.

Felicity realized that they were surrounded by four of Jimmy's men when a windowless van pulled up to the curb. "You're making a huge mistake." Felicity warned. They picked the wrong day to try to abduct her. Sara was more lethal than all of Jimmy's men combined.

"You're boyfriend should've lived up to his promise. Now, you and your friend get into the van or someone is going to get hurt." Jimmy snarled as he reached for Felicity's hand.

"Oh, someone is going to get hurt." Sara promised with a smile.

In what only seemed like seconds, Sara had pushed Felicity into a doorway and had disarmed and knocked out Jimmy and his four men before she used one of their handguns to take out the tires of the van. When the driver got out with his gun raised, Sara threw a truncheon that she'd taken from one of the men. She struck the driver in the center of the forehead and he dropped to the pavement like a rag doll. Everything and everyone on the street and sidewalk had seemed to freeze at the sudden outburst of violence. The silence was suddenly pierced by the sound of police sirens and it seemed to be a signal for everyone to break into pandemonium. People were running and screaming away from where Sara stood surrounded by six bodies and a gun in her hand. Sara dropped the gun and crouched down beside Felicity. "Are you hurt?" She asked brushing her hands down Felicity's arms and sides.

Felicity shook her head. "I should be asking you that."

Sara smiled. "I'm fine. A light afternoon workout."

Felicity's phone buzzed and she laughed. Her facial recognition software had just sent her an alert that Jimmy Roman had been spotted on the very corner she was now sitting. "So much for advance warning," she said under her breath.

"Are you two okay?" Lance asked as he ran down the sidewalk towards them with several uniformed men following in his wake.

"We're fine, dad." Sara said to her frowning father as if she and Felicity had gotten caught in the rain with a flat tire instead of facing six armed men. Lance put his arms around his daughter and sighed in relief.

Felicity stood up. "Wow, you found us pretty quick."

"Well, the tracker app you put on my phone turned out to be useful." Lance turned to watch his men handcuff the unconscious assailants while paramedics took in their injuries. "So, this is your idea of a low profile?"

"She did it." Felicity pointed at Sara. "I'm just the innocent attempted kidnapping victim."

"Hey," Sara said grumpily. "What happened to thank you?"

"He won't throw you in jail." Felicity said defensively. "You won't, right?"

The Captain shook his head. "Neither of you are going to jail, but you're going to need to tell me what's going on. Kidnapping? Were they looking for a Queen's ransom." He winked at her.

Sara and Felicity both groaned. "I'm not exactly sure what they wanted me for, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Oliver's money."

He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. "Arrow business?" She shook her head. "Then what?"

A commotion on the street caught their attention. A swarm of cameras and reporters were descending on their position firing questions at the Captain. They hadn't recognized her yet so she tried to shrink further into the recesses of the doorway. The last thing they needed was for the press to start digging into her connections with Jimmy Roman. So far, the press hadn't focused too much on her life in Vegas. She really wanted to keep it that way. "Frack." Felicity muttered.

"Here," Sara said placing her cap onto Felicity's head and removing the sunglasses she had hooked to the neck of her shirt. "Put these on."

"I can't see without my glasses," Felicity protested.

"You don't need to see. We just need to get you out of here before they spot you." Sara said.

Felicity removed her glasses and placed them inside her purse. She tucked her ponytail under the cap and put on Sara's large framed glasses. "I literally can't see you. Everything is a dark blur."

"Hold onto Sara. We're going to my car and then the station." Felicity was about to protest when the Captain interrupted. "I don't want to hear it. You're coming to the station."

vvvvv

She heard him before she saw him. "Where is Felicity Smoak?" He demanded in his gruff Arrow voice.

"Go get him," Lance said to Sara, "before he starts putting arrows into people."

Sara ushered Oliver and Diggle into Lance's office and Felicity was instantly in Oliver's arms. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Sara saved me." She said as she tightened her arms around him.

Oliver reached out with one arm and took Sara's hand. "Thank you."

"Least I could do for the woman who took a bullet for me." Sara said cheekily.

"What?" Lance asked as he looked between the three of them.

"It's a long story." Felicity supplied.

"Now that your guy is here, you want to tell me what the hell is going on?" A knock on his door brought in an uniformed officer with a file. He placed the file on Lance's desk and left without saying a word. Lance made a lot of disgusted noises as he read the contents of the folder. He rubbed his hands back and forth over his head. "You want to tell me why a bunch of Vegas mobsters were looking to kidnap you?" Felicity's eyes went wide with her best attempt at looking innocent. Lance sighed heavily. "This have something to do with your mom and her murder?"

"We have it under control." Oliver said.

Sara snorted and Lance pointed to his door. "Under control? My daughter taking out six armed men in broad daylight trying to protect your girl is not under control. Tell me what's going on or I'll find a cell for you right next to Roman's."

"I thought you said you had facial rec running." Oliver said to her angrily.

She ignored his tone because she knew he was worried. "They must have driven up from Vegas or flown into another city. Either way, the first time Jimmy showed his face in Starling is when he jumped in front of me on the street." She knew what he was going to say before he had a chance to. "I'll expand the geographic range of my search parameters."

Oliver's shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry," he said softly, "I shouldn't have raised my voice."

Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand and smiled at Lance. "Captain, I'm sorry. I know you warned us at Thanksgiving and we've been trying. I promise you, we've been trying." When Lance slumped back in his chair she said one word, "Roshenko."

"The low life we extradited to Gotham this morning? He's tied to Jimmy Roman?" The Captain's interest had been stoked and Felicity could see his detective brain trying to put all the pieces together.

"The Arrow has been making life tough for the mob lately. Between the DA's recent arrests and all the gun and drug shipments and," her voice cracked, "the girls."

"Well, clearly the mob has tied you to the Arrow." Lance glared at Oliver. "I warned you," he all but shouted.

"I know." Oliver said. Felicity was actually impressed with how convincing his lie was. As far as they knew, Oscar had no idea that Oliver was the Arrow.

"This is what happens when people take the law into their own hands. These guys think they can come after you with impunity because you can't turn to the law for help."

"That's where they're wrong." Diggle said.

vvvvv

Felicity followed Oliver and Dig into the living room. Dig spent the entire ride from SCPD to the mansion on the phone with the partition up. Oliver took the opposite approach and hadn't spoken a word. Even though he held her hand in a vice like grip, from the moment they left Lance's office until they stepped out of the Bentley he was a million miles away - lost in a dark place. Oliver stood in front of the windows and had a tense conversation with Dig that she couldn't hear. Sometimes, Felicity really hated the two of them. Okay, not hate, she could never hate them, but she sure could be annoyed. After all this time they still felt the need to protect her from how ugly reality could be. They seemed to forget that she'd gotten pretty up close and intimate with ugly reality. She was about to launch into her loud voice when the front door slammed.

Oliver let out a sharp exhale as Thea stormed into the room. Roy was following close behind and he gave Oliver an apologetic look. "What - the - hell - Ollie? I have a foundation to run. I can't just drop everything because you send my boyfriend to do your dirty work and drag me home so we can have a chat."

"Someone tried to kidnap Felicity this afternoon." Oliver said bluntly.

Thea jerked back like she'd been slapped. "What?" Throwing her arms around Felicity she asked, "Are you okay?" Felicity nodded. "Did they catch them? Were they looking for a ransom?"

Oliver approached Thea and rubbed her arms in an attempt to reassure her. "I promise, we will tell you everything, but for now I need you and Felicity to stay inside. We're increasing security and the SCPD will be providing regular patrols, but Dig, Roy or I will always be with you.''

"No." Felicity said firmly. "I'm not hiding."

"Damn it, Felicity. I'm not asking." Oliver shouted.

Felicity looked around the room at her friends who all looked like they were pretending to be anywhere but listening to them fight. With a final glare at Oliver she stormed out of the room and up to their bedroom. Everything was out of control. Oscar had a hit out on both Oliver and the Arrow. She was now a target to be abducted in order to be used as some kind of leverage. She began to pace as she tried to think of a way out from under the mess her mom had left her as her inheritance. Not for the first time, she thought she'd have been better off being raised by wolves.

She'd amassed a lot of damning evidence against Oscar. She could easily turn it over to the Feds and let them take him down. There were two big problems with her Fed plan. First, it would take way too long for the arrest to happen. Oliver could be dead by then. The second problem was, Oliver. He was a member of the Bratva, not an active member, but close enough to have his hands dirty with some recent activities. Oscar wouldn't hesitate to out Oliver as Bratva to the Feds in exchange for a deal. They always had the option of killing Oscar, but that would mean Oliver would have to return to being a killer. He already made an exception to save her life, she couldn't ask him to do it again. Killing Oscar would probably set off a mob war. No one needed that. She had to find leverage, a weak spot that she could exploit. Oliver had taught her that everyone had a weakness. Oliver's was her and Thea. Felicity's was Oliver. She was pretty confident that Oscar's weakness wouldn't be a person. He was a cold calculating man who only cared about himself. Money and power were his preferred companions. She froze on the spot. Money and power. She was more than capable of stripping anyone of their money. Unless it was in cash under Oscar's mattress, she'd be able to find every penny in every account and make it disappear. Without his money, his power would vanish too. He'd be unable to invest in new product to move. He'd be unable to pay his men and more importantly, he'd be unable to pay Anatoly. If Oscar failed in his obligations as Captain, Anatoly would have to intercede and remove Oscar from the equation.

Their bedroom door opened and Oliver walked in with an apologetic look on his face. "Felicity?"

Now that she had a plan, she could start to focus her anger away from Oliver. "It's fine, Oliver. I'll stay inside. You don't need to worry, I just over reacted."

Oliver's brow furrowed as he approached her. "What's going on?"

"Seeing Jimmy shook me more than I thought. I over reacted to you making a decision for me."

"I once told you that you don't get a vote when it comes to your safety." Oliver lifted the chain from around her neck with his index finger. When her engagement ring was revealed he clasped it in his hand, which made Felicity take a step closer to him. "Now that you're going to be my wife, you're safety is unquestionably my responsibility."

She took a deep breath in order to clear her head of her anger. She chose to ignore the inherent sexism of his statement and focused on the sentiment and his very real fear. Felicity put her hand around his. "Oliver, if something happens to me, it won't be your fault." He attempted to look elsewhere, but she caught his chin and forced his eyes back to hers. "You can't lock me in a tower for the rest of my life because you think it will keep me safe. Yes, there are dangerous people out there, but you have to trust me."

"I trust you, but what would've happened if Sara wasn't with you. He would've gotten you into that van and I might never have seen you again."

"Sara, my very dear, very lethal and very protective friend, was with me." She had hoped for a small smile, but his face remained grim. "I'm always with you or Dig. What's going to happen to me?"

"Oscar wants me dead. I have a target on my back. From now on, I go to and from work alone. You don't go anywhere without Dig or Roy."

To argue or not to argue, that was the burning question in Felicity's head. He was upset and scared which was why he was acting like a fascist dictator. Yelling at him would only make him dig in more. She needed him to cool down and then she could make him see reason. "Got it. No where without you, Dig or Roy, but we're still commuting together."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do I feel like this was too easy?"

She smiled and stretched up on her toes in order to give him a quick kiss. "I love you and I thought my future husband could use a win."

Oliver wrapped his arms around her. "I don't know how I feel about you throwing a fight. I like to win fair and square."

She kissed him again. "Do you honestly remember ever winning an argument with me?"

He scrunched his nose and she could tell he was trying to remember. He sighed. "Thank you, for the win."

"Everything is going to be okay, I promise." She held his face between her hands.

"How can you be so sure?" He asked as he lowered his head to her shoulder.

She stroked the back of his neck. "I just have a feeling." _That I'm about to bring Oscar's world down around him_. Felicity was done playing games and she was going to make Oscar regret the day he thought he could use her as leverage against Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> Up Next: Oliver reveals something he has been keeping from Felicity. (He really will this time - I promise).


	9. June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver reveals a secret he's been keeping from Felicity. Dig and Lyla's wedding. Felicity has a run in with the FBI.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave me a comment or a kudos.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

An explosion of flashes lit up the night sky as soon as his hand reached back into the vehicle for hers. Felicity took a deep breath and plastered her official smile onto her face. Tonight was her first public appearance since the news of her engagement had been announced. She took the offered hand and it squeezed hers reassuringly. As soon as she was out of the car, she looped her arm through her escort's elbow. The flashbulbs were blinding and she couldn't see beyond her feet. With her largest fake smile, she said through her teeth, "I'm sorry to be putting you through this, Walter."

Walter covered the hand she had resting on the crook of his arm. "It's my pleasure."

"Oliver and I owe you, big time." She said as they made their way down the red carpet.

"Oh, I think Oliver owes you more for tonight." Walter teased good naturedly.

Oliver's last minute cancellation couldn't be helped. They'd gotten word that the Triad planned on hijacking a truck full of state of the art equipment bound for her newly completed Applied Sciences building. Team Arrow had mobilized, but it had been decided that Felicity needed to make an appearance at Ted Kord's birthday party. Ted had been one of the few people who'd remained loyal to the Queen family throughout the Undertaking and the Stellmoor International crisis. Since Walter was already attending, he agreed to escort Felicity as she walked the media gauntlet. The official story was that Oliver had a last minute overseas call, but the media was acting like there was blood in the water.

_Felicity - where's Oliver?_

Big smile. "He is a busy CEO."

_Felicity - is it true Oliver's called off the engagement?_

Huge smile and hold up hand with ring. "We're both very excited."

_Felicity - is it true Oliver's with Laurel Lance tonight?_

Don't even acknowledge that one.

_Walter - are you covering up an affair for your step-son?_

Walter looks momentarily aghast. "Oliver is working late this evening and I'm honored to be escorting Felicity."

_Walter - what do you think Moira would say about this engagement?_

Walter's smile was debonair. "Moira would be happy that her son has found love with such an amazing woman. We are proud to be adding Felicity to our family."

It took them fifteen minutes to walk the rope line and Felicity was grateful for the glass of red wine that was immediately placed into her hand as soon as she entered the Essex Hotel's ballroom.

Walter and Felicity made the rounds and wished the guest of honor a happy birthday. She was asked about Oliver's proposal and would only say it was perfect. When pressed about wedding details she smiled and said they hadn't decided on anything yet. "Don't they have anything better to do than gossip about my wedding?" She asked Walter as he led them to their table. "No one even asked about QC's performance."

Walter gave her a sympathetic pat on the arm. "The idle rich have very little else to do but gossip about weddings. They're all maneuvering for an invite to the wedding of the decade."

Felicity groaned. "Thea's in charge of the guest list. If Oliver and I are left in charge of it, the guest list will only include about ten people."

"As long as I'm one of the ten." Walter teased.

Felicity bit her lip. "I was hoping you'd be more than a guest." Walter stopped and turned to look at her. "Oliver and I never would've met, become friends or fallen in love, if not for you." What she couldn't tell him was that his disappearance and the notebook he gave her were what made her seek Oliver out for help and then ultimately agree to help him on his mission. "Would you give me away?"

Walter leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. His eyes were more than a little moist. "I would be honored to."

Felicity let out her breath in relief. "Good. That's good. Thank you."

Walter held out her chair and Felicity sat down. She greeted the other guests at their table and she was grateful to have Walter by her side to handle all the pleasantries. The salad was just being served when she heard Roy's voice in her ear. She let out a little squeak which she covered with a cough. She'd forgotten she was wearing an earpiece so that Roy could reach her immediately if he ran into any trouble. "Sorry to interrupt, Blondie, but I'm having trouble accessing the transportation network."

Felicity pretended to check her phone. "If you'll excuse me. It's Oliver." The men at the table stood as she rose from her chair.

With her phone pressed to her ear she headed to the doors that led to the hotel's gardens. She sensed Rob, her bodyguard, fall into step behind her. Ever since Jimmy's kidnapping attempt, Felicity wasn't allowed to go anywhere without Oliver, Dig, Roy or a bodyguard. "Just a second, Oliver, while I step outside," she said brightly to Roy.

Once she made it outside she turned to Rob, "Do you mind staying here? I'm just going to stand by the fountain." The sound of the fountain would prevent her from being overheard by anyone wandering too close, including her bodyguard. Rob nodded his agreement. His forty-eight hours as Oliver's bodyguard when Oliver had first returned from the island had made him overly vigilant when Dig first reassigned him from mansion security to her bodyguard. Once Rob realized that Felicity was nothing like Oliver and wouldn't try to ditch him, he relaxed enough so that he wasn't hovering over her all the time.

It only took her two minutes to walk Roy through what he needed to do, but she was reluctant to return to dinner and the scrutiny of her dining companions. The garden was fragrant with freshly bloomed roses and gardenias and the sound of the fountain was soothing. Between the red carpet and the dull party conversations, she was already exhausted and she had at least another two hours to go before she could make a polite exit. The sound of stones crunching under foot was her signal that her break was over and it was time to return to dinner. When she turned, she ran right into Vic Sage. Rob had followed Vic and was only a foot away with his hand on his holster, but Felicity waved him off with a quick shake of her head and he retreated back towards the stairs. "Hi," Felicity smiled widely.

Vic kissed her on the cheek. "Felicity, beautiful as always."

"Thank you. You're not looking too shabby yourself tonight." Vic always looked good in a tux, not as good as Oliver, but handsome nonetheless. She sat down on the edge of the fountain and gave her most disapproving look. "Did you come out for a cigarette?"

Vic smiled ruefully as he sat down beside her. "I'm trying to quit, again." He placed a hand on his upper arm and she knew he must be wearing a nicotine patch. "I saw you leave and thought I'd take advantage of catching you alone." Felicity raised her brows in a silent question. "I wanted to tell you congratulations without all the wagging tongues watching. I wish you and Oliver every happiness."

"Thank you, Vic. That means a great deal to me." She knocked her shoulder against his. "I'm glad to see you're still here and not in Syria."

He winked at her. "Why go overseas when Starling is lousy with violence and corruption?"

"We've enjoyed your coverage on the investigations and arrests." Felicity said truthfully. Vic had been relentless in his coverage of the fires caused by faulty building materials. Most recently, he'd been reporting on the financial impact on the city and calling out city officials for their inaction. The waterfront had been closed after the newly constructed warehouses had been inspected. The city decided that each building needed to be thoroughly evaluated before it could be reopened. The port was suffering with so many of the storage facilities being unavailable. Much of the port traffic was being rerouted to ports south of Starling. It was causing the city millions of dollars. Felicity was looking for the silver lining and hoped that the situation on the waterfront would force Oscar to move his shipping routes away from Starling and give them a temporary breather.

"I think we should be thanking your green friend for those arrests. Without all the evidence he compiled, who knows how long it would've taken for our illustrious D.A. to act."

Felicity shrugged. "I wouldn't know anything about that."

Vic laughed. "Of course not." He looked around and his eyes stopped on Rob. He lowered his voice. "I see Oliver got you a bodyguard. I'm glad. That kidnapping attempt was no joke. I looked into Jimmy Roman. He and his associates are dangerous men."

"I'm fine, really. It's over." She said reassuringly. The last time she'd been kidnapped, they'd been dating and it ultimately led to their break up when she was forced to look at her own mortality and realized she could no longer continue lying to herself about her feelings for Oliver.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Vic leaned closer to her. "You and Oliver need to be careful. Word on the street is that there's a price on Oliver's head. He's pissed off some people."

"Oliver has a knack for that." Which was an understatement, but she needed to deflect some of Vic's concern. The last thing she needed from her ex was for him to bring his focus as an investigative journalist onto Oliver.

"Don't joke." Vic placed his hand on top of hers. "There's also a separate price on the Arrow's head. You need to watch your back. I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire."

Felicity knew Vic had his suspicions about Oliver being the Arrow and she thought his strategy was to get her to forget she was keeping a secret and just confirm it. He was going to need to try a lot harder. She was very good at keeping secrets. "Do you have any names? Is there someone in town now?"

"If there isn't, there soon will be." He stood up and offered her his hand. "I'll keep my ears to the ground and let you know if I hear anything. In the meantime, you be careful and keep that bodyguard close."

She took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. "Thank you, Vic. I appreciate the warning and your concern."

"You should head back inside first. You don't need the vultures circulating any more unfounded rumors." He smiled when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'll give you a ten minute head start. I hate the salad course anyway."

She laughed. "Always the gentleman." Felicity started towards Rob, but when she reached the steps she turned to Vic. "Good luck with the whole no smoking thing. I want you telling truth to power for a long time to come."

He gave her a small salute and she followed Rob inside. She sighed when took her seat beside Walter. She was pretty sure she could see the orange glow of a cigarette flare up in the darkness of the garden. She could only work on saving one man at a time and right now all her focus was on saving Oliver.

VVVVV                                                       

The living room of the Queen mansion looked like a bomb went off, if said bomb had been filled with the entire contents of a wedding show. Examples of invitations covered the coffee table, fabrics in every color of the rainbow were draped across the sofa and armchairs, easels were lined up against the windows displaying various venues with corresponding sketches for the designs of the ceremony and reception, and cutouts from magazines were taped to the wall with ideas for possible floral arrangements, bouquets and wedding cakes. Thea had succeeded in making hopeful vendors and designers jump at her command within moments of the announcement of Felicity's engagement to Oliver. Felicity was more than a little terrified of the petite brunette who stood in front of her holding up designer sketches for her possible wedding gown.

Felicity was seated on the floor buried under a pile of tulle, satin, silk and lace as Thea held up the sketches commissioned by famous designers. All of the gowns were amazing, but Felicity was feeling less and less excited about her wedding every time Thea added to the ever expanding list of things expected at a society wedding. As she looked around, what Roy was referring to as the Wedding Command Center, she felt overwhelmed.

"Who thought making a blonde dress all in white was a good idea?" Rosie frowned as she held up a yard of shantung silk in front of the window. "Do you know that brides in China and India wear reds and golds when they get married?"

"She is wearing white." Thea said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Rosie tilted her head and studied Felicity. "You'll look positively washed out in white. Will you consider going back to your natural color, just for the wedding?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I think it would be nice if Oliver recognized his bride as I walk down the aisle."

Thea cleared her throat and waved a sketch in front of Felicity. "I think this gown will be perfect for your photo shoot."

The bride dropped her head onto the cushion of the sofa and complained to the ceiling. "I don't understand why I need two dresses."

Thea sighed and looked up to the same ceiling in a prayer for patience. "Because, Fe-li-ci-ty, we are selling the exclusive rights to photograph your wedding day, which includes your wedding dress and you and Ollie are also doing a publicity spread with Vanity Fair and they want to put you in a wedding dress for one of the photos. So, you need two dresses."

Felicity hadn't been happy when the PR team informed them of the publicity campaign for the their engagement and wedding. They weren't William and Kate and Felicity felt like a photo shoot was more than a little bit egotistical. "I honestly don't understand why anyone cares. We're just two people getting married."

Rosie hummed her agreement as she dropped the shantung on top of Felicity and selected a brocade from the sofa. "I don't know why anyone cares either. For two such young, rich and attractive people you are incredibly boring." Her aunt frequently complained that she was wasting her youth. If her aunt only knew the truth, she'd probably rejoice at Felicity's unconventional lifestyle.

"Have you been paying attention?" Thea asked Felicity testily. "Everyone is interested. If you don't want helicopters hovering over you on your actual wedding day, you will sell the rights to your wedding and smile through the photo shoot and try your best to look blissfully in love while everyone is staring." Felicity was about to voice her objection about having to pretend to be blissfully in love because she didn't have to pretend when Thea interrupted her. "When you're with friends and family the two of you are revolting with the heart eyes and all the flirting, but put the two of you in front of the cameras and you look terrified and he looks constipated. You need to let the world see what we see."

"Can't I just let Vanity Fair pick out my dress?" Felicity was super uncomfortable with the price tag of her impending nuptials and a second dress seemed beyond extravagant. Even though she was about to become a billionaire, she still wasn't comfortable with throwing around money frivolously and her wedding was fast approaching becoming the actual definition of the word frivolous.

Thea hung her head and began to rub her temples. "You need to look your absolute best, which means all of the clothes for the shoot need to be pre-selected and tailored to you. You don't have the right body type to wear sample sizes right off the rack." Thea tried to soften her words. "I mean, Ollie's going to need to have his clothes tailored too."

Felicity tried to let the sting of Thea's words wash over her. Her future sister-in-law was practically a walking hanger and everything she put on looked absolutely amazing. Thea never had to worry if her butt looked big. She knew Thea wasn't calling her fat. She knew Thea was trying to protect her. She knew Thea wanted her to look her best. In her head, Felicity knew that not only was she not fat, she was fit, but as the media liked to point out she had a larger bottom and her thighs committed the mortal sin of touching when she walked. If only food were completely unnecessary to survival she could give it up but she had to eat and, if she had to eat, she liked food that tasted good. "Fine, I'll wear that one for the photo shoot."

"Finally, a decision." Thea said with relief as she set the sketch aside.

"Don't worry, darling." Rosie said with a reassuring smile. "You're going to be absolutely beautiful. Oliver won't know what hit him." Felicity smiled gratefully at her aunt.

Thea pointed to the wall behind her. "You have to choose a venue before we pick your real gown. They need to match thematically."

"I want Oliver to get a say on where we get married." Felicity insisted. They were partners in everything and it wasn't fair that he was being excluded from the wedding plans. There was also a small part of her that didn't think it was fair that she was the only one suffering through Thea's marathon planning sessions.

Thea rolled her eyes. "Who cares what Ollie thinks? Grooms are irrelevant. Stick him in a tux and tell him where and when to show up. "

"If I want him to be on time, I need to tell Dig where and when." She had hoped to get a grin from Thea, instead she was met with an icy stare. Felicity realized that Thea's mood had less to do with the wedding plans and more to do with the story from that morning's news cycle. "How long are you going to stay mad at me?"

"I'm not mad," Thea said through gritted teeth as she stacked the sketches into a pile.

"Why don't we take a break?" Aunt Rosie asked brightly. "Who'd like a glass of champagne?"

Both of the younger women ignored Rosie."Your face," Felicity made a circle with her index finger, "says something else."

"You kissed your ex and it was on the front page of the paper." Thea slammed the sketches onto the coffee table, causing an avalanche of invitations to cascade onto the floor.

"On the cheek," Felicity said defensively.

"On the cheek. On the lips, it doesn't matter. You were alone with your ex in a romantic setting and allowed yourself to be photographed." Thea turned redder and redder as her voice got louder and louder. "How could you be so stupid?"

"Hey." Oliver said in his Arrow voice. "Don't speak to Felicity like that, ever." His head was peaking around the door but his eyes were firmly closed. He'd learned his lesson when Thea had screamed at him when he'd entered the room when there'd been sketches of gowns hanging on the walls.

"It's okay, Oliver." Felicity said softly. She smiled when she turned to look at him and saw that he was defending her honor with his eyes shut. "You can open your eyes."

"No, it isn't." Oliver strode into the room and turned Thea to face him. "Felicity didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm not accusing her of cheating on you, but the media is. She can't go around kissing other men, especially past lovers, in public." Thea said calmly.

Felicity and Oliver both flinched when Thea said past lovers. "For the record, I'm not thrilled with you kissing other men in public or private." Oliver winked at his fiancé in an attempt to lessen the tension in the room.

She gave him a small smile for his efforts. Vic was still a sensitive subject between them. Felicity knew that she didn't need to explain herself, but Thea wasn't wrong, the photos from Ted Kord's party hadn't looked innocent. A photographer had caught them having a _secret rendezvous_ in the hotel's garden. There were pictures of cheek kissing and hand holding, but the worst had been of them seated on the edge of the fountain with their heads together because Vic was whispering in her ear about the hits out on Oliver and the Arrow. Of course, in the picture, it looked like they were whispering sweet words of love in their stolen moment alone. Felicity had told Oliver all about her meeting with Vic as soon as they'd gotten into bed that night. When they awoke this morning to the manufactured scandal created by the photographs and Oliver's absence from the party he'd cursed under his breath and went for a run. When he returned, he apologized for putting her in the position of being alone at a party right after their engagement had been announced. "Vic was only passing on some information for the," Felicity almost said, the Arrow, when she remembered her aunt was still in the room, "that Oliver had asked for."

Thea looked at Rosie before narrowing her eyes at Felicity. It was uncanny how similar Thea and Oliver's grouchy faces were. "Well, we can't go to the media with that story. No one would believe it. Now we're forced to say, no comment, because now no matter what we say it looks like we're covering up an affair."

Felicity's eyes welled up with tears and looked at Oliver. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking anyone was watching us. I forget that people care about who I talk to."

"You can't afford to forget. Whenever you step foot outside of our house you have to assume someone is watching you." For a split second, Felicity thought she was being lectured by Moira. Between Thea's tone of voice and body language she was doing a fairly good impression of her mom.

"Speedy, enough." Oliver shouted angrily.

"No, Ollie. This is her life now. You're not helping by coddling her. The press is out to get you, both of you. As much as the fairytales sell, the train wrecks always sell more. They want you to cheat. They want you to implode because they make more money. Of course, they want to help the destruction of your relationship."

Oliver rubbed his hands over his head and took a deep breath. "You forget that we grew up with these lessons ingrained into us. Felicity is still learning."

Thea stepped up to her brother and rested her hands on his arms. "I'm sorry, Ollie, but she needs to be up to speed, right now. She can't ease into it, because you didn't ease into your relationship. As far as the media is concerned you went from denying your relationship one day to living together the next."

"She's right. I need to be smarter than this. I watched you for years, I know how to do this." Felicity put out her hands and Oliver pulled her free from the mound of fabric.

"Good," Thea said with a coy smile, "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Uh, oh." Felicity, Oliver and Rosie said together.

"Let's talk about the wedding plans. I need you to talk some sense into your bride."

Oliver grinned. "What isn't she cooperating on this time?"

"I have a list, but the most urgent item is the bridal party." The young brunette folded her arms across her chest and stared at Felicity accusingly.

Oliver's brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought we were all set. Walter is walking Felicity down the aisle. Dig's my best man. You're the maid of honor and then Roy and Sara."

Thea huffed, "Seriously, Ollie?" You're okay with Sara, Sara Lance, being a bridesmaid?"

Oliver grabbed an apple out of the bowl on the coffee table and took a bite. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Felicity almost laughed at the sound that came out of Thea. It was part sigh, part moan and part snort. "You slept with her while you were dating her sister. The world thought you drown together and then you dated when you were both returned from the dead. She was your last girlfriend before Felicity. Do I really need to go on?"

Felicity and Oliver looked at one another and shrugged. "It's complicated."

Thea threw up her hands. "Exactly. The media isn't really good with nuance. Sara being in the wedding party will end up being the story."

"Sara is my friend." Felicity put her arm around Oliver's waist. "She's our friend and important to both of us. We want her to be part of this day."

"So invite her as a guest, but don't have her stand up for you. The pictures will haunt you. Tell me you're not this thick?" Her question was directed to Oliver.

"This isn't any of your business." Oliver said gruffly.

"You're right, it isn't, but if you think the press will respect that, you're even dumber than I thought."

"I want her there." Felicity said in the tone she normally used with Oliver when she needed to let him know that her mind was made up and he should just stop arguing.

"And I admire you for your ability to be friends with so many of the women who have seen him naked, but the press will have a field day. They'll say you're window dressing while he continues his philandering ways. They'll say he made you make his lover a bridesmaid. Imagine the pictures if Ollie and Sara even make momentary eye contact during the ceremony."

"We have complete editorial control over the photographs. It's part of the contract." Oliver said trying to reassure both of the women.

"Yes, but not over all of the guest's cell phones. Someone will take a picture and post it to social media." Thea made air quotes. "Groom says wedding vows to lover. Or, even worse, they'll imply that you're in some type of twisted polyamorous thing."

Oliver shook his head. "I don't even know what that means." He looked to Felicity who was staring at Thea with a shocked look on her face.

Felicity wiped tears from her eyes. "I don't care. This is our wedding and we're going to at least have control over the wedding party. If I have to do," she opened her arms and turned in a slow circle, "all of this, because it is expected of a Queen, then I'm going to have Sara as my bridesmaid."

"Fine, let Sara be the story and not your marriage." Thea grabbed an armful of albums off of the coffee table. "Why not ask Laurel too? Better, yet, why don't you ask her to officiate?" She stormed off, slamming the door behind her.

Felicity was stunned at Thea's outburst. She'd voiced mild concern about Sara being a bridesmaid, but hadn't shared her full concerns before now. Thea loved Sara and Felicity couldn't believe that she'd be so insistent about removing her from the party.

"Are we having fun yet?" Oliver asked her. Felicity looked up into his wide eyes and laughed.

Rosie cleared her throat. "I'll go talk to her." She patted Felicity on the back. "She loves you both and just wants the day to be perfect for you. She's trying to do for you what she thinks your mom would've done. From what I understand, those are some big shoes to fill and she doesn't want to fail you."

Oliver groaned and looked regretful for snapping at Thea. "Thank you, Rosie. For everything."

They watched Rosie slip out of the room. "Maybe we should rethink eloping." Oliver said seriously. "Just say the word and I will make an appointment at the courthouse."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. She sighed, "I would, but I'm terrified of her. I think she'd murder us in our sleep."

Oliver chuckled. "Yeah, and she'd make us suffer first."

"Did you know I'm going to need two dresses?" She held up two fingers. "Two dresses."

He kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry. I know you weren't signing on for this circus when you first saved my life. You know you don't have to do this?"

"Now, you tell me." She teased.

"I'm serious. If this is too much, we can call it off."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Never, we're getting married, it just shouldn't be," he looked around the room, "this complicated." He kissed her. "I'll talk to her and tell her she needs to dial back the intensity."

She returned his kiss. "There's always the option of a sedative filled injection arrow."

Oliver wrinkled his brow. "You joke, but we might need to shoot her before this is over."

VVVVV

It was just after 3:00am when the guys returned from patrol. Not counting the Undertaking or the Siege, it had been one the worst nights in recent memory. There had been six armed robberies, one multi-car pile-up and two three-alarm fires. The SCPD, SCFD and Team Arrow had been kept traversing the city streets trying to keep up with the bedlam.

Dig and Roy had already come and gone and Felicity was waiting for Oliver to finish getting showered and changed. She was grateful it was a Sunday morning and that she wasn't expected back at the office for another twenty nine hours. Once she got herself into a sleep deficit it became an out of control spiral of too much caffeine fueling embarrassing babble and only ending when the team was granted a rare early night or an even more rare night off. Since it was Sunday, she'd be able to sleep all day before having to return for another night of patrols. If they were lucky, it would be slow and they'd get to make an early night of it.

"Ready?" Oliver asked.

"Mmmhh." She double checked to make sure her new Cyrllic code breaking software was running and her web crawlers were still hunting Oscar's financial information before she turned off her monitors. Oliver held her coat out for her and she slipped it on. "I'm tired, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep for a couple of hours. It's possible I drank five gallons of coffee tonight. I might need to crash in front of the TV."

Oliver linked his fingers through hers. "I don't think I can sleep either. How about, instead of TV, we go watch the sunrise and then we go to the Water's Edge Cafe to get those banana chocolate chip pancakes you love before we go home?"

"Sunrise. Pancakes. Bed. That sounds like your best plan ever."

He laughed as he led her to his car. "You're only saying that because I included pancakes."

She squeezed his hand before she slipped into the passenger seat. "I'm trying to reward any and all plans that involve pancakes in the hope you'll include them in more of them."

He grinned at her before he closed her door. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

They drove in companionable silence, listening to the radio. The further they got from the city the clearer the moonless night sky became. Felicity began to absently point out constellations and the corresponding stories she could remember from a mythology class she took in college. Oliver told her some Chinese stories about the constellations that Shado had shared with him on the Island. After an hour, Oliver parked their car at a scenic overlook that had a spectacular view of the ocean to the west and the mountains to the east. He removed two blankets from the trunk and laid one across the hood of the car. Once Felicity was seated on the hood, warmed by the engine, Oliver draped the second blanket around her shoulders.

She'd expected him to snuggle with her under the blanket while they awaited the sun's appearance, but, instead, he began to pace in front of the car. He was so nervous that if they weren't already engaged she would think he had brought her out here to propose. When he started to rub his fingers together, she knew he wasn't nervous. Oliver was worried.

She reached a hand out to him and waved it to get his attention in the dark. "Oliver, did something happen tonight?"

He exhaled loudly, but took her hand. "Nothing happened. I just need to talk to you about something and I don't know where to begin."

Felicity's heart began to race and she feared it would leap from her chest. She really wished he'd warn her when he was going to ratchet up her anxiety level so she could lay off the caffeine. As she reexamined her surroundings, she realized he'd taken her somewhere isolated. He knew her too well. He was clearly worried that whatever he told her would upset her enough for her to want to _get some air_. She couldn't very well put distance between them to avoid a confrontation if he was her only way back to civilization. She took a deep breath to steady her own nerves and said, "Start at the beginning."

Oliver laughed. "Yeah, the beginning." He let go of her hand and walked towards the guard rail facing the mountain. "I'm not sure where the beginning is anymore."

"Oliver, you can tell me anything. I promise, I'm not going anywhere and I'm not just saying that because you've taken me to the middle of nowhere and it will take me a month to walk home in these shoes."

He nodded his head, but still didn't face her. "I've told you pieces, but not everything." He turned to face her. "I've started to tell you so many times, but I never was able to get the whole thing out."

"Why not?" She hoped if he was able to voice his fear, it would be easier for him to tell her whatever was weighing on him.

"I told myself that I was protecting you - protecting my family, but I realize now that I've mostly been protecting myself. I don't like to think about the things I've done or the choices I've made." He took a step closer to her. "After Harvard threw me out, my dad told me that a man must be able to look himself in the mirror. I think maybe that's why he gave me the list. I think he wasn't able to look at his reflection without feeling disgust."

The pain in his voice had her sliding off the car in an attempt to reach him. She wanted to put her arms around him and take away whatever pain was driving him to confess to her under the starry sky. He held out his hand in a silent request to make her stop. She complied but didn't return to her seat on the hood of the car. "At the time, I didn't understand what he meant. I thought it was another way of him expressing disappointment at my lack of ambition and contempt for sobriety. Now I realize, I was never able to look myself in the mirror, even before the Gambit," his voice broke, "and after - those five years." He swallowed heavily. "I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and not be ashamed of who is looking back."

She wiped the tears from her eyes and quickly moved to put her arms around him before he could protest. She placed her cheek against his chest and tightened her embrace. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"I need to start telling you about those five years. I can't build a life with you if I'm keeping secrets, but I'm afraid if I do tell you, you won't be able to look at me the way you do now. God, Felicity. You look at me and make me believe that I'm worth something, but I don't know how you can keep loving me once you know everything I've done."

His words were like a knife through her chest. Guilt had always been Oliver's constant companion, but she'd hoped that all the good he'd been doing in Starling was starting to lift some of that burden from his shoulders. She wasn't sure what to tell him. His body told the tale of the terrible things that were done to him and she knew that in order to survive he must have done equally terrible things. She couldn't imagine him telling her anything that would make her love him less. She probably should examine what it meant that she loved a man who had once tortured others and killed in cold blood, but now was not the time. The only thing she was certain of was that she couldn't lie to him. "I love you." She could feel him pulling away, so she clasped his face between her hands and lowered his forehead to hers. "You don't have to tell me everything at once. Pick one thing. I won't promise that what you tell me won't upset me, but I promise that I will listen and I won't run."

He brushed his lips against hers before he wrapped her tightly against his chest. "After the Amazo sank, when I woke up in Hong Kong, Amanda told me she rescued me because she thought I had a talent she could nurture." Waller rescuing Oliver from the Amazo wasn't new information to Felicity. "It turned out that Fryers and the mercenaries were ARGUS and she'd been watching me almost from the moment I'd washed ashore. She believed I'd be a skilled interrogator which is the sanitized term for torturer. I tried to escape, so many times - I lost count. After each escape attempt she'd have me beaten by my handler, Maseo. Then, she'd throw me into solitary, naked. They'd throw water on me and blast the AC or they'd raise the temperature until I thought I'd die of thirst. Sometimes, they'd chain me to the wall so I couldn't sit or they'd make me kneel with my chest against my legs and my arms behind my back with my wrists tied to my ankles. They'd blare loud music and flash strobe lights to keep me from sleeping. I'd go days without food." Felicity silently wept against his chest and he began to run his fingers through her hair. She loved this man beyond reason and couldn't imagine anyone wanting to inflict so much pain on him. "By the time they let me out, I was grateful for any kindness my handler gave me. Eventually, I stopped trying to escape and they rewarded me by allowing me to live with Maseo and his family. I became attached to them, especially his twelve year old son. Eventually, I learned that Maseo was also working for ARGUS under duress and he longed to return his family to Japan. One day, we had the opportunity to escape. We went our separate ways, but I was captured." His voice was distant and she knew he was trying to distance himself from the painful memories. "Amanda had me tortured for their location, but I refused to break." Oliver pulled away from her and turned to face the mountains. The first hints of a golden dawn were breaking along the mountain top. "When Amanda realized that the water boarding and beatings weren't working, she switched tactics. She threatened Thea."

Oliver had never told her about the water boarding before. She thought she might throw up. She thought his continued dislike of the water had been related to nearly drowning when the Gambit sank. His aquaphobia was even more understandable now that she'd learned about Waller's torture via simulated drowning."Thea?" Felicity asked in disbelief, even though nothing Oliver told her about Waller should ever surprise her. Thea couldn't have been more than fifteen when Oliver arrived in Hong Kong.

"Turns out, Thea was a lot like me at that age and she developed a bad habit of escaping her life with the help of a drug dealer. Amanda said if I didn't cooperate, Thea would overdose and no one would question it."

Felicity cursed the very existence of Amanda Waller and ARGUS.

"I had to protect Thea and I was about to tell Amanda what she wanted to know when she held up a picture." He laughed, but it was hollow. "I was confused. I didn't understand why she was showing me my own baby photo." Oliver turned to face her. His eyes were full of fear. "When I asked her why she was showing me my own photo, she laughed. She told me," his voice rasped and he had to clear his throat in order to continue. "She told me that it was a picture of my son."

Felicity locked her knees in an attempt to keep herself upright. "Your son?" A hundred other questions raced to exit her mouth, but she bit her tongue. She had to give him a chance to finish telling his story.

"Amanda told me that Sandra," he looked at her for confirmation that she remembered the name, "had lied to me about the miscarriage. That my mom paid her to lie to me."

Felicity felt faint and when she began to sway, Oliver's hands gripped her shoulders. "Oh, Oliver," she whispered. Even from her grave, Moira still had a way of blowing up her children's lives.

"Let's sit down." He said steering her back to the car. He helped her get back onto the blanket and began to rub her hands between his. "Your fingers are like ice. Are you okay?"

She was pretty sure she was in shock and might possibly be having an out of body experience. "Is he your son?"

Oliver nodded, but he rushed to explain himself. "I honestly didn't believe Amanda. I thought it was another one of her mind games. I couldn't believe that my mom was capable of that."

Felicity rolled her eyes before she could stop herself.

"I know, I know. But back then I was just some dumb twenty five year old that thought my mom could walk on water. I didn't know then what I know now. I didn't know what she was capable of."

"So, when did you believe it?" Felicity wasn't sure she believed it. She'd done a thorough evaluation of the Queen finances. She hadn't trusted Moira and she wanted to protect Oliver from any more nasty surprises. She didn't understand how she could've missed Moira paying off Sandra. If she missed this, what else could she have missed? She was going to need to go through everything again, just in case Moira had taken more secrets to her grave.

"When I first came home, all I ever thought about was the list. I never thought about him because I didn't believe he existed. Once I realized what my mom was capable of, I started to wonder if Amanda hadn't been lying to me. I looked for Sandra and discovered that she'd given birth to a son seven months after I left on the Gambit."

"What's his name?" She asked in a whisper.

"Connor." There was something in his voice that she recognized. He said his son's name with the same reverence he said hers.

"Connor." She placed a hand over his heart. "That's a nice name, Connor Queen."

"Hawke." His voice was choked with emotion.

"What?" She asked in confusion as she looked to the sky for the bird Oliver must've spotted.

He gently took her chin in his hand and returned her eyes to his. He smiled gently. "His name is Connor Hawke."

"Oh. Have you seen him?" She could only imagine what a son of Oliver's would look like. Did Connor have his eyes or his devastating smile? If she saw him on the street would she know him instantly as Oliver's child?

He shook his head sadly. "No, just the picture Amanda showed me."

"Would you like to? I'm sure I can find pictures of him online." She was already running the searches in her head.

"I," he swallowed. "I don't know. It might be too hard. Right now he's this faceless shadow that runs around in my head. Once I know what he looks like, I don't know if I could keep going without being allowed in his life."

His fingers were rubbing together and she took his hand in hers. "Have you spoken to Sandra? Did she say you can't meet him?"

"No, I haven't spoken to her since she told me she miscarried." His response sounded like she'd asked him if he was sleeping with another woman.

She tightened her grip on his hand. "Why not?"

"Because," his voice was angry, "because, when I first got home I thought I was going to die. You know what I was like that first year. I was dangerous. I wasn't fit to be near a child. How could I just pop into their lives?"

She decided not to argue with him on his self-assessment. Oliver was never dangerous to the people he loved, but he was definitely broken his first year home. If he'd been afraid of himself his first year back, she knew who he was afraid of in his second. "I won't ask why you didn't try to contact her last year because I already know the answer, Slade."

He pulled away from her and began to pace. "Felicity, if she wanted me in his life she would've contacted me. My return from the island made National news. I thought that maybe she'd reach out once she learned about my mom's death, but she didn't."

"We could contact Sandra, together. See where she is. Listen to her side. Maybe she thinks you know about him and you don't have any interest in meeting him." Felicity challenged.

He stopped mid step and looked at her like she slapped him. "She got married while I was gone. Her husband adopted Connor. He already has a father. One with a safe, stable job who loves him. He doesn't need me."

She couldn't believe how he'd talked himself out of being a part of his son's life. "Oliver. How can you say that? You're his father."

"Malcolm was Thea's father." He sneered.

She stepped into his path and placed her hands against his chest. She was calling bullshit on this warped line of reasoning. "That's a false equivalency if I ever heard one. You are nothing like Malcolm Merlyn."

"Maybe not, but I know that my dad loved Thea as much as he loved me. It didn't matter that he wasn't her biological father. Thea would be better off not knowing about Malcolm - she'd tell you that herself. If this man loves Connor as much as my dad loved Thea, how can I put myself ahead of that?"

She took his face into her hands. "A child can never have too many people loving him. Connor wouldn't lose his dad if you entered his life, he'd be getting a second one."

Oliver shook his head. "They live in Central City. I can't move there. What would shared custody be like for him? Uprooting his life for a few holidays and a month in the summer? That would be selfish. He's happy the way his life is now."

Felicity was doing her best to process Oliver's news without putting too much of her own daddy issues onto what she was already feeling. She needed space to process. She stepped away from him. "What are you going to do if he finds out about you one day and comes looking for you? What are you going to tell him when he asks why you didn't want him?" She knew she sounded angry. Frack. Was she angry?

Oliver's face crumpled in grief before he regained his composure. "Is that what you think? That I don't want him? That I don't want to be his father?"

Despite her best efforts, her loud voice made an appearance. "No, Oliver. I'm looking at you as you're telling me that it's for the best that Connor doesn't know anything about you. Your lips are saying one thing, but your face is telling me something else." She took a deep breath in order to get her emotions under control. When she continued, her voice was calm. "When you sat in my office and you told me about Sandra's miscarriage, I thought you were grieving for the child that died, but you were really crying for the son that is very much alive. Why didn't you tell me the whole story?"

The look of shame that flooded his face broke her heart. He was staring at his feet as he toed at the loose pebbles, unable to make eye contact with her. "I was going to tell you, but then we were talking about the possibility of us having children and I didn't want my past to cloud your vision of our future. I was afraid." He finally lifted his eyes and looked directly at her. His voice came out in almost a whisper. "I am afraid. You put up with so much of my baggage. I didn't want to add to it. A seven year old son is a lot for you to take on because you love me."

She laughed in disbelief at how thick headed he could be. "Do you honestly think I'd stop loving you because of this? Your son isn't something I'd take on. If you want to make him a part of your, no, our life, than I will support you. He is a part of you. How could I do anything but love him?"

His eyes welled with tears. His voice sounded heartbroken. "Do you think I'm abandoning him?"

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his chest so she could look up at him. He lowered his head so he could look at her. "You can't abandon someone you didn't know existed, but you have a choice now. You can be his father now. Your mom was wrong to take that choice away from you."

He closed his eyes. "What if I choose to leave Connor with his parents?"

She touched his face and waited for him to open his eyes. "I will support you in whatever decision you make about Connor. If you think that he will be happier without you in his life, I will support your decision and I won't bring it up again, but Oliver, please make sure you're making this decision in Connor's best interest and not because you're afraid of being a father or because you think I'll leave."

He shook his head sadly. "I want him to have a carefree and happy childhood. Me showing up in his life now will be disruptive. Can you imagine what the press will do with this story? He doesn't deserve that. Sandra doesn't want me in his life and I'm going to respect her choice."

More than anyone she understood how cruel and invasive the press could be, but it shouldn't be the main reason Oliver used to stay out of his son's life. "Oliver, the press will eventually lose interest. The disruption would be temporary. We'd protect him from as much of it as possible."

"He's seven, seven," He swallowed heavily. "I remember what it was like to grow up in the spotlight. It warped me. I don't want that for him."

Felicity took a gasping breath. They hadn't discussed having a family since the first time he brought it up in February. Even after he proposed, they hadn't discussed the possibility of children. "Does that mean you don't want children with me?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't say that."

He might not have said those words, but he sure was implying it. She wasn't sure if she wanted kids, but she wanted to know the possibility remained. "How will it be different for our children growing up in the spotlight?"

His face lit up with a smile and he caressed her cheek. "Because, they'll have you for a mother. You won't let our kids get away with what my parents allowed Thea and me to do. Our children will have boundaries and know without a doubt they are loved."

Her eyes welled with tears at his words. "So, how can you say Connor will be warped by growing up knowing he's a Queen? I think you'll be an amazing father and Connor will have two sets of parents who love him."

"If we have kids, they will know how much their parents love each other and wanted them," he said with conviction. He then shook his head sadly. "Connor is going to learn that his father didn't love his mom and was really just an irresponsible sperm donor. He's going to learn that his father was a thoughtless cheating ass who got his mom pregnant during a drunken one night stand that he doesn't even remember. He's going to learn that his grandmother thought his very existence would ruin his father's life. He's going to learn that his mom agreed to hide his existence from his father for money. How does any kid not get screwed up by that?"

"You are no longer that man. You're selfless and you love fiercely. He will judge you for who you are, not for who you were."

Oliver looked at her sideways. "If your father turned up tomorrow and you found out that since he left you he's become a different person, a better man than the man he was, would you forgive him for abandoning you? Would you be able to judge him for who he is now and not for who he was?"

"You didn't abandon Connor. You didn't tell him you were going to work and that you'd take him for ice cream when you came home and then disappear. Yes, his conception isn't the story that kids want their parents to tell them about." She wrinkled her nose. "Does anyone want to hear how they were conceived?" She shook her head. "Yes, you and Sandra weren't in love. Yes, your mom and Sandra made a terrible arrangement and lied to you. Yes, it seems like he has two parents that love him and he's happy. But, Oliver, you have to know that his life would be richer for having you a part of it." He looked away when tears began to roll down his cheeks. Felicity didn't want Oliver to be right. She wanted him to be able to have a relationship with the child that his mom and fate separated him from. She thought about her own childhood and growing up knowing she was unwanted from the moment of her conception. If Connor was truly happy and was loved, maybe it was better to leave him ignorant of how he came into the world. Felicity reached out and wiped the tears from his face. "Okay, if you think this is for the best, we will stay out of his life, but you have to promise me something," he nodded. "If you ever change your mind and want to be a part of his life, you need to promise not to be afraid to tell me."

"I promise." He still look worried. "Are we okay?"

"Yes, Oliver. We're okay. You can always talk to me, about anything, no matter what." Felicity kissed him tenderly. "The sun's almost up."

He wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I love you."

She rested an arm along his and laced her fingers through his and watched the sky turn pink as the sun's glow finally broke over the top of the mountain with the promise of a new day. "I love you."

VVVVV

Sneaking out in the middle of the night without Oliver catching you is a pretty impressive feat, or at least, Felicity thinks so. When she was awoken by an alert from her computer informing her that her webcrawler program had finally found something, she was ready to take action. Felicity had been itching to take their fight with Oscar directly to him. Now that she had something, she couldn't wait until morning. She decided that Oliver needed sleep more than she needed him to sit in the lair and keep her company. Their conversation about Connor earlier in the week had taken a toll on him. He was restless when they went to bed and struggled to fall asleep. He was withdrawn and they hadn't had sex since he told her about his son. They'd gone longer without sex, but it was always because of their schedules or his injuries. This dry spell was different, he had emotionally pulled away from her and she wasn't sure what she should do. She looked at his sleeping form and felt momentarily guilty for leaving him. She reminded herself that he wouldn't be able to help her with what she needed to accomplish in the next several hours and she had nothing to feel guilty about.

Being neither stupid nor insensitive to Oliver's concerns about her safety, she woke up Roy, who was conveniently sleeping two doors down from her. Bringing Roy with her served two purposes, first, he would satisfy Oliver's definition of a bodyguard and secondly, it would give Roy a hands-on opportunity to hack. He grumbled about not getting all his needed beauty sleep, but less than ten minutes later Roy was driving her to the lair.

Felicity watched the approaching lights of Starling City as Roy navigated through the empty roads leading away from the mansion. She needed something to go right for them before Oscar succeeded in eliminating Oliver. "Everything okay?" Roy asked as he got onto the highway. "You're way too quiet and it's kind of freaking me out."

She couldn't share with Roy what was really going on, but she had other worries that she could share."Amy Abbott is a dead end." Felicity said as she continued to look out the passenger side window.

"We have her on camera meeting with the Triad and Bratva. There has to be something." Roy said encouragingly. "We'll keep looking until we find it."

She shook her head. "I think Oliver's right. I think she might be a spy." She'd spent hours going through Amy's records and it was the only explanation that made any sense.

Roy laughed. "Oliver sure knows how to pick 'em." When he saw the side eye stare Felicity shot him he realized she hadn't been kidding. "You're serious? A spy?"

"Everything about her record after Harvard is perfect, too perfect. No unexplained deposits in her bank accounts. Not a late payment. Not a speeding ticket. Nothing. It's like an automaton has been living her life. No one is that perfect."

Roy took his eyes off the road to look at her. "So, after she partied with Oliver she decided to straighten out her life."

"No," she said turning in her seat to face him as she used her index finger to redirect his gaze to the road, "you don't understand. If we all need to disappear because we're found out, our pasts will look just like hers. I've created identities for each of us that will make us look like the most boring people on earth. It makes it easy to disappear when you're boring as toast. Amy's too clean."

"So, you're done looking at her?" He asked in disbelief.

"If she's working for our government, the last thing I want to do is draw attention to us. If she's working for the Russians, I definitely don't want to draw any attention to us. I set the software we loaded onto her cell to self-destruct. It's too risky to keep her in our crosshairs. I'll keep running the code breaking software I'm running on the calls we've recorded just in case there's something there, but we're back where we started." Felicity turned back to her window. "If we're going to keep Oliver alive, I need to take out Oscar directly."

Twenty minutes after leaving the mansion, she sat down in her chair and woke her sleeping screens. "Let's see what you found for me, my pretty." A satisfied grin spread across her face as she saw everything her webcrawler had uncovered. Oscar had more than twenty million dollars in a dozen bank accounts scattered across the globe and another several million dollars in commercial real estate. She laced her fingers together and stretched her arms out in front of her and cracked her knuckles before she rolled her head and shoulders. Oscar thought he could threaten her and her family and that there would be no repercussions. He couldn't be more wrong. Oliver might be the physically terrifying half of their partnership, but anyone who underestimated her ability to rain chaos down onto them was making a huge mistake.

She planned on turning Oscar's wealth into Bitcoins. Oscar would never be able to trace what happened to his money and, most importantly, would never be able to trace it to her or Oliver. Most likely, the money would be turned over to Anatoly to appease him, but she still planned on diverting some of the money to a human trafficking charity. As for Oscar's property, she was going to change the deeds over to a holding company that would sell off the property right out from under him. She'd also successfully introduced a virus onto Oscar's computers that allowed her to track every website he visited and every keystroke he made. She knew that she wouldn't find everything without Oscar leading her to whatever offshore accounts she hadn't yet identified. Once he realized some of his accounts had been emptied, he would surely check on all of his accounts. "You messed with the wrong girl."

VVVVV

Oliver and Felicity swayed to the soft strains of the wedding band. She hadn't quite gotten him out onto the dance floor but she was in his arms and they were moving to the music as they watched Lyla and Dig on the dance floor. "They look happy." She said with a sigh.

He kissed her temple. "They do." His cell chirped with the tone she programmed as his QC emergency           ringtone. Gerry was only to use it if QC was on literal or metaphorical fire. Oliver took a step away from Felicity. "Gerry, what's going on?" Felicity pointed towards the bar and he nodded. "Oh, Ned. Is something wrong?"

Felicity made a beeline for the bar. If Ned was using Gerry's emergency line, nothing good was happening, which meant their evening was about to be cut short. She was getting another glass of champagne before reality crashed in on them. She was taking her first sip when she saw Oliver, Laurel, Roy and Thea converging on her. She felt a wave of dread wash over her. Oliver reached her first and took her by the elbow and steered her to a quiet alcove. Laurel, Roy and Thea followed. "What's going on?"

Oliver's CEO smile was firmly in place. "The FBI is executing a search warrant at QC."

"What?" She squeaked before she remembered to put on her fake smile. "What are they looking for?" She couldn't think of anything that would draw the FBI's attention to QC.

"They're at the mansion too." Thea said with concern.

Laurel pushed Oliver aside and took hold of Felicity's arms. "We don't have a lot of time, so I need you to listen to me. My dad called. He got a courtesy head's up that the FBI is about to bring you in for questioning."

"Me?" Felicity couldn't think of a single reason the FBI would want to talk to her. Sure, she'd broken a million federal laws, but she was too good for them to catch. "For what?"

"Cyber terrorism. My dad says the incident was seven years ago." Laurel's voice was barely above a whisper.

Felicity began to shake and Oliver put his arm around her waist. She took a deep breath so she could think. "It's okay." She said to a concerned Oliver. "They won't find anything at work or at home that can link any of us to our evening activities."

"What happened seven years ago?" He asked with panic in his eyes.

She smiled weakly at him. "I made a really stupid mistake." She closed her eyes as memories from the worst year of her life came flooding back. "I thought it was behind me."

Laurel tugged on Felicity's arm to regain her attention. "They are on their way here to pick you up."

"Can't we arrange for Felicity to come in on her own?" Oliver asked as he looked around the reception hall.

Laurel frowned. "They're concerned that you'll use your money to help her run before they can speak with her."

"No, they can't ruin John and Lyla's day." Felicity felt sick at the thought of armed men storming the reception.

"Listen to me, Felicity. Don't say a word. Not a single word. You can't afford to babble now. You need to keep your mouth shut like your lips are sewn shut. Don't sign any paperwork either. I've hired you a lawyer. You wait until Joanna de la Vega shows up before you speak and you say only what she tells you to say and only when she tells you to. Do you understand?" Felicity nodded her head.

"Say it." Oliver demanded.

She wanted to roll her eyes at Oliver's bossiness, but part of her needed to say it out loud too. "I won't say a word until Joanna tells me to."

"It's going to be all right." Laurel said in a tone Felicity wished was more comforting. "We'll meet them out front so they don't interrupt the reception." Laurel turned to Roy and Thea. "I think you two should stay in here."

Laurel, Oliver and Felicity casually made their way across the reception hall. At one point Dig caught Felicity's eye and waved. She felt a lump form in her throat as she realized that she might never see him outside of a prison again. She waved and hoped the tears in her eyes would be mistaken for happy ones. Oliver linked his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand tightly. The three made it outside into the warm summer evening. "Are you sure there is nothing we need to worry about at the mansion or your office?" Laurel asked.

"There is nothing on any of my personal or work computers that can link me to the Arrow. As long as they don't find the lair, we're good." She looked into Oliver's distressed eyes. "I promise. You're safe."

"I don't care about me." He said as he pulled her into his arms. "Laurel, can we have a minute." She nodded and walked away. "Listen to me. If this is about the Arrow, then you flip on me. Do you understand?"

"Oliver, no." She would never sacrifice him to save herself.

"If they want the name of the Arrow, don't even hesitate. Ask for immunity and then you tell them it's me. You tell them that I forced you to help me. That I threatened you. That I beat you. That I'm forcing you to marry me. Whatever it takes."

She began to cry. "Don't ask me to say those things about you. I won't. I can't."

"Ssshh." He ran his hands up and down her arms. "Don't cry. I don't want you to be punished for my actions"

She wiped her eyes. "It doesn't matter. They're not questioning me about the Arrow. They're interested in what happened at MIT."

Oliver studied her face. "Why didn't you tell me something happened seven years ago? How can I protect you if I don't know what happened?"

She squeezed him tighter. "You can't protect me from this." She took his face in her hands. "I know things have been weird between us for a few weeks and I'm sorry if I didn't say the right thing when you told me about Connor."

"Hey, hey," he said as he placed his hands over hers. "You were perfect. You are perfect. I've been the one acting weird. You gave me a lot of things to think about. Things I hadn't thought about before. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you did or said something wrong. I need to be better about telling you what's going on in my head instead of hiding from you - it's a bad habit. I promise, when you come home tonight, because you are coming home tonight, I'll tell you everything. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay." She looked around and noticed people were watching them. She didn't see anyone snapping pictures or filming a video, but she was sure this evening would be memorialized in the morning's tabloids. She'd been afraid of announcing their engagement because it would overshadow Dig's wedding, now it was going to be her arrest. "Don't tell Dig and Lyla. They deserve to go to Fiji and not worry about me. Promise me." Oliver and Felicity had given Dig and Lyla the trip to Fiji as their wedding present. They were being flown first class and would stay at a private resort. Dig protested that Oliver and Felicity had spent too much money, but once Lyla saw all the amenities he wasn't able to tell her no.

He hung his head before he met her eyes. "I promise. Dig will go on his honeymoon."

"Tonight." Felicity insisted. "Tell him there was a firewall emergency at QC if he notices I'm missing."

He tilted his head to the side and smiled. "I promise, they will leave for their honeymoon, tonight."

She sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Laurel's hand rested between Felicity's shoulder blades. "They're here."

When Oliver looked away to track the three unmarked SUVs that were pulling up, Felicity took a deep breath and removed the engagement ring from her finger. She looked up at Oliver and did her best to memorize his face before she kissed him. The kiss was full of love and regret because she was possibly telling him goodbye. If they had evidence of what she did her last year at MIT, there was a good chance she'd never be free again. "I'm sorry." She said softly as she dropped her ring into his coat pocket. Maybe he would find it when he undressed or one of the maids would when sorting his dry cleaning, but all she knew was that Oliver Queen's fiancé wouldn't be taken into federal custody. Felicity Smoak had made her bed and now she was going to lie in it, alone.

Felicity stepped away from Oliver when she heard Laurel speak. "Felicity Smoak is going with you voluntarily. She has retained counsel." Laurel handed a business card to the FBI agent. "Joanna de la Vega of Wethersby & Stone is Ms. Smoak's attorney. She will meet you at the Federal Building downtown."

"Ms. Smoak." A male agent, wearing a navy blue windbreaker with FBI written in yellow across the back, addressed her. He began to read her the Miranda warning.

"Come on guys." Laurel said. "She's cooperating. She's not a violent felon. The cuffs aren't necessary."

"All terrorists get cuffed." The agent said gruffly.

"Miss Smoak hasn't been arrested. There are no charges." Laurel said indignantly.

"Okay, all people being brought in for questioning about cyber terrorism get cuffed." The agent said belligerently as he placed one of the cuffs on Felicity's wrist and he pushed on her shoulder to direct her movement.

Felicity swallowed heavily as she turned around. She met Oliver's eyes and did her best not to burst into tears. She was afraid, but looking at Oliver reminded her of what courage meant. She could be brave. She would be strong, for all of them. They were counting on her. She smiled at him even as the agent took her by the other arm and secured the second cuff. "I love you." She said to Oliver when the agent began to lead her away.

Oliver made to take a step towards her, but Laurel's cautioning hand on his chest stopped him. "I love you."

"Joanna will meet you there." Laurel's words were the last Felicity heard before the door of the dark SUV closed behind her.

vvvvv

Felicity was going to write a book, _A Woman's Guide to Arrest and Imprisonment_ ," and she knew what the very first tip was going to be.

_1\. Don't wear five inch designer heels when getting arrested._

With her hands cuffed behind her back, maintaining her balance was more than a bit challenging. If it weren't for the agent holding her elbow, she was pretty sure she'd have wiped out at least six times on the Federal Building's linoleum floors. Which led to her next tip.

_2\. Don 't wear a low cut dress without a bra._

The position of her arms behind her back were pushing the girls front and center and she was one sneeze away from a nip slip. Which kind of leads to her third tip. 

_3\. Always wear underwear._

Even if you're worried about visible panty lines and you were planning on surprising your fiancé in the limo on the way home, put your underwear on. Nothing makes you feel quite as vulnerable as having your hands cuffed behind your back as you slide around the back of a FBI vehicle without any panties on. Her fourth tip wasn't clothing related, but accessories were involved.

_4\. Don't wear contact lenses._

Your eyes and mouth will go dry from nerves. No matter how frequently she blinked her eyes they felt like sandpiper. As dry as her eyes and mouth felt, she really needed to pee. Which makes tip number five pretty obvious.

_5\. Don't drink three glasses of champagne before being taken into custody._

Being nervous will make you need to pee. Needing to pee will make you squirm which will make you look guilty. Between the champagne and her nerves she knew that she was going to be interrogated with a full bladder. Even though she felt stone cold sober, she knew that she was more than a little buzzed at the reception. Alcohol never made her babbling better.

She hoped that as uncomfortable as she felt being brought in for questioning whilst dressed like a Barbie doll, it might help her case. No one would expect someone who looked the way she currently did could possibly be a cyber terrorist.

The agent led her into an interrogation room, removed her cuffs and then guided her to a chair. Once she was seated he cuffed her right hand to a metal loop hanging from the table. He exited the room and she was left alone. Felicity absently rubbed her wrists as she took in her surroundings. The room was harshly lit with overhead fluorescent lighting. One of the long narrow tubes flickered and hissed. She wondered if the malfunctioning light was intentional. Oliver didn't tell her a lot about his time as an interrogator, but he had told her the best way to break someone was to make them uncomfortable and keep them off balance. Handcuffing her when she wasn't under arrest had succeeded in making her feel powerless and off kilter. The worn table she was cuffed to was bolted to the floor. The chair she occupied rocked every time she moved. The front left leg was shorter than the rest of them. She imagined this was intentional too. Each corner of the room had a camera with a steady light to let her know she was being recorded. Across from where she sat was a one way mirror. She was certain there was a roomful of people observing her just beyond the wall. The thought of people watching her made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. She took a deep breath to clear her mind. Oliver had taught her a lot over the years. She knew that she could get through whatever the FBI threw at her because in her tenure on the team, she'd faced the Dodger, the Count, Tockman, the Dollmaker, Isabel Rochev, an army of Mirakuru soldiers and Slade Wilson. If she could face those psychopaths, surely an interrogation by the FBI would be a cakewalk. She tried to remember some of the things Oliver told her about interrogating criminals. When left alone, the guilty were more likely to be calm and to fall asleep after an arrest. The innocent were more likely to be anxious and to demand answers. She was going to follow Laurel's advice and stay quiet until Joanna arrived, but she could definitely appear anxious. She wrung her hands in her lap and chewed on her bottom lip as she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

After what felt like two hours, the sound of a turning lock drew her attention to the door as it finally opened. A man in his early fifties entered. He looked haggard and a bit world weary in his rumpled suit. He reminded her of Captain Lance. She chided herself for comparing the two men. Mistaking this agent for a friend or a sympathetic ally would be a dangerous mistake. Felicity was so distracted by the Lance look alike that she hadn't registered the second person to enter the room. "Amy?" Well, that was one mystery solved. Amy Abbott was a federal agent and Felicity had targeted her and placed spy ware on her phone. Frack. Her panic was only momentary and she relaxed when Joanna entered the room. She was dressed in a power suit that made her look totally intimidating. If she hadn't met Joanna socially with Laurel on several occasions, she'd probably feel intimidated by her.

Joanna placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze before she took the seat next to her. "Are you all right?" Felicity smiled faintly and nodded. Joanna noticed that Felicity was cuffed. "Are these cuffs really necessary? My client isn't under arrest."

Amy sat across from Felicity and she placed an overstuffed accordion folder onto the center of the table. The male agent removed the handcuffs from Felicity and hooked them onto his belt before he sat down opposite Joanna. "I'm Special Agent Daniel Jeffries. I believe you're already acquainted with Agent Abbott." Felicity nodded as she wished that _Ollie_ had, for once in his life, turned down easy sex when he met this woman. "We have some questions that we're hoping you can answer."

"My client fully intends on cooperating with you. She has nothing to hide." Joanna said confidently. To say that Felicity had nothing to hide was laughable. Not that she planned on laughing, because she wasn't. There was nothing remotely funny about her situation.

Jeffries opened the folder and began to place glossy pictures in front of her. She grasped her hands tightly in her lap in an effort to resist touching the pictures. Images of the Stevies, Jimmy Roman, Oscar Orlov and Richie Thompson were revealed. Pictures of her three other step-fathers were laid out before her. As Jeffries flipped over another picture she did her best to keep her face still before he removed another from the folder. The last picture he revealed was a photo of her mom - her eyes were staring vacantly, her throat torn open from the bullet wound that killed her. She was wet and laid out on the dock where the police divers must've placed her after they recovered her body from the harbor. Felicity turned away as she felt her stomach lurch. The last thing she needed to do was to vomit in front of the agents. "Do you recognize these people?"

Felicity looked to Joanna who nodded. "Yes." Her voice came out in a whisper, so she tried again, "Yes." She sorted through the pictures. "At one time or another, these men were my step-fathers." She pushed the stack away and pulled one photo closer. "This man is my step-brother or he was until our parents divorced." She pushed the photo of Little Stevie towards Amy. "These men were friends of my mom." She slid all but two photos towards Jeffries. "This man," Felicity pulled a picture of a man who appeared to be in his forties towards herself with shaking fingers, "he is my father." She studied the photo quickly. Even though she hadn't seen Jack Smoak in twenty years she was certain that the man in the picture was her dad. He was grayer and heavier than she remembered, but the eyes looking back at her were the same as the ones she looked at in the mirror every morning. She slid the picture of her mom's corpse towards Amy without looking. "This was my mother." Amy reached across the table and pulled the photo of Felicity's dad away from her. It was all she could do not to reach out and take it back. She had never made more than a half-hearted effort to find him and she hadn't looked since high school. She wanted to ask them where the photo had been taken and if they knew where her dad was. She swallowed back her questions and forced her shoulders to relax.

"A pretty unsavory cast of characters." Amy said in what Felicity considered a fairly judgey voice from a woman who had snorted cocaine off of Oliver's abs not so long ago.

"My mother didn't have the greatest taste in friends or husbands." Felicity said coldly.

"Your mom had quite the record. As do your step-fathers." Jeffries held up a stack of papers clipped together. "Quite the family of con artists."

Felicity thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. Her mom was a con artist, but her step-fathers were a used-car salesman, a casino owner, a drug dealer and a retired truck driver. She was about to set Jeffries straight when Joanna asked sharply, "Is there a question for my client?"

"You appear to have better taste in friends. You're engaged to Oliver Queen now?" Jeffries asked the question disinterestedly as he appeared to read from a document.

Felicity looked down at her bare finger. She might not be wearing his ring, but as long as she's not under arrest she was still engaged. "Yes."

"Congratulations." Amy said insincerely. "Have you set a date?"

"No." Felicity replied.

"You're not wearing your ring. Did Mr. Queen change his mind?" Amy said his name like he was a stranger and not a former lover. Felicity wondered if the FBI knew that Amy had known Oliver intimately.

"It needs to be resized." Felicity said smoothly.

"You landed yourself quite the whale." Jeffries smirked.

Felicity flinched at the Vegas term for a wealthy mark. It was one thing for the media to accuse her of being a gold digger in an attempt to increase circulation or viewership. It was quite another to have a federal government official believe it.

"Is Ms. Smoak's romantic relationship really what you want to discuss with her?" Joanna leaned forward in her chair. "If you're looking for gossip you can pick up the tabloids."

Amy sorted through the photos and pulled one out. She placed it in front of Felicity. "Where's Bob Noble?"

"Bob?" Felicity asked with surprise. Her step-father hadn't been all that interesting. Sure he was an anti-government survivalist who stock piled weapons in the Nevada desert, but he'd been all bark and no bite. "I haven't seen Bob since I left Vegas to go to college." Her answer was technically true. In reality she hadn't seen him since he died of a heart attack her junior year in high school and she helped her mom bury him out on his ranch so she could continue to cash her husband's disability and social security checks.

"He was married to your mother at the time of her death, correct?" Amy lifted her eyebrows in a silent challenge."

"As far as I know?" Felicity replied.

"You didn't know if your mom was still married to Bob? Didn't you speak to him or ask about him when you spoke with your mom?" Jeffries' tone implied he didn't believe her.

"Once I left home at sixteen to attend MIT, I never went home again. I rarely spoke with my mom unless she needed money. I was never close to Bob. I didn't ask about him and my mom never spoke about him." Felicity answered truthfully.

"You never asked about your step-father?" Jeffries shook his head. "I find that odd."

Joanna put her hand up to stop Felicity from responding. "My client has already said that she doesn't have contact with her step-father."

"So, you don't have any idea where he is?" Jeffries didn't sound like a man who believed her.

Felicity knew exactly where to find Bob's earthly remains. Deciding that wasn't the story she wanted to lead with, she went with a different version of the truth. "I don't know where Bob is." And she didn't. How could she know if there was an afterlife? For all she knew, at that very moment, Bob could be floating around the interrogation room cursing the government.

A small smile must've appeared because Jeffries asked, "Is something funny Miss Smoak?"

"I was just thinking about the last thing Bob ever said to me before I left for school." Both agents looked interested. "Don't trust the government. They're out to get you."

"For someone who distrusted the government, he cashed his disability and social security checks." Amy stated.

Felicity leaned forward. "Bob didn't trust the government, but he was happy to its money. His political views were shaped by too much Fox News and cheap whiskey."

Amy held up the photo of Bob. "He stopped cashing the checks the month your mom died. Why is that?"

Felicity shrugged. "I don't know."

"Do you think your mom killed Bob?" Jeffries asked. "She was having an affair with Richie Thompson when she died."

"No." Felicity said firmly. Of that, she had no doubt.

"You seem awfully certain of that. Especially considering you haven't seen Bob in ten years." Jeffries stared at Felicity as he looked for something to indicate Felicity was lying to him.

"My mom was a terrible mother, but she wasn't a killer." Felicity said calmly.

Joanna placed both of her hands on the table. "Why don't we cut to the chase and you tell us why my client is really here?"

Jeffries removed another photo from the folder and slid it in front of Felicity. "Do you know this man?"

With trembling fingers, she reached for it. "Yes. It's Coop. Cooper Selden."

"How do you know him?" Jeffries asked.

"We dated at MIT." Felicity couldn't take her eyes from Coop's photo. It was the mug shot from the day he'd been arrested for hacking into the Department of Education.

"Why'd you break up?" Amy asked coyly.

Felicity's eyes flashed in anger. They knew damn well what happened to Coop. They were being intentionally cruel. "He hung himself." Felicity's eyes welled with tears and she cursed herself for showing them any emotion. She took a deep breath. They were playing games with her and she wasn't going to let them effect her.

"Why?" Jeffries asked.

She wanted to say. _To save me. Because he blamed himself for being caught. For his arrogance. For not listening to her and leading the FBI right to them. Because he was afraid._ Instead, she said, "Because he didn't want to be sentenced to life in prison."

Joanna made a sound of disgust. "What does an ex-boyfriend's suicide have to do with why you've brought her in?"

"He must've really loved you to take the fall for you." Amy appeared to be enjoying herself. "Do you think Oliver loves you that much or will he cut you loose once he learns who he is marrying?"

Felicity blinked away tears as she said, "Coop was young and made a stupid choice. He thought he was helping people, but he paid the price for it."

"The agent who investigated the hack of the Department of Education always believed that while Mr. Selden was the individual who wiped the student loans, he never believed that he wrote the virus. Did you write the virus?" Jeffries sounded as if he already knew the answer.

Joanna placed her hand on Felicity's arm. "Are you planning on arresting my client for hacking into the Department of Education?"

"What can you tell me about this man?" Amy asked ignoring Joanna and passing Oscar's photo to Felicity.

Felicity wrinkled her nose in distaste to cover her surprise. She needed to think. Why were they asking about Coop and her Vegas connections? She set her brain to work on finding the logical connections while she answered,"His name is Oscar Orlov. He dated my mom when I was seven or eight."

"Do you recognize this man?" Amy pushed the picture of Jimmy Roman in front of her.

"Yes, he was a friend of my mom and as I'm sure you know, he tried to abduct me last month." Felicity said as coolly as she could. She was getting annoyed with the game the agents appeared to be playing with her, but she was doing her best to hide it. She knew they were trying to connect what happened with Cooper at MIT with Oscar, but she couldn't see how these events tied together in their minds.

Amy sighed with impatience. "Why would a man who works for Oscar Orlov try to kidnap you?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him." Felicity said more harshly than she intended.

"We've been investigating Oscar Orlov for a very long time. He's a member of the Russian mafia whose activities, up until recently, have been centered in and around Las Vegas. Shortly after your mother's death he became active in Starling City." Jeffries stared at her. "Do you know why?"

"You'll have to ask Mr. Orlov. We don't exactly run in the same circles." Felicity said without breaking eye contact with Jeffries.

"You used to." Jeffries said plainly.

"Yes, if that's what you want to call it. When I was eight I would sit at his seedy bar drinking Shirley Temples and doing my homework while my mom screwed him in his office." Felicity said angrily. "I'm the Vice President of Applied Sciences at Queen Consolidated. Do you honestly believe I have time to socialize with the Russian mob?"

"There's a rumor that there's an American Bratva Captain working in Starling. Do you know who that is?" Jeffries leaned back in his chair.

Felicity laughed. "It's not me, if that's what you're asking?"

Amy smiled. "No, the Bratva don't allow woman anywhere but in their beds, but maybe they made an exception for a genius hacker."

Before Felicity could respond, Jeffries picked up where Amy left off. "Two weeks ago, Oscar's bank accounts were completely depleted."

Amy removed documents from the folder and passed them to Felicity. "Can you tell me how that happened?"

Felicity looked through the documents and passed them to Joanna. She recognized Oscar's accounts and the zero balances she helped to create. There were also letters from the various banks she'd targeted to the FBI stating that all of the transfers were legitimate and authorized. If they were going to try to get her on the bank hacking they'd have to have more than what they were showing her. She was confident that they wouldn't be able to trace it back to her. "I really couldn't tell you."

Joanna looked up from the documents. "If you're not charging my client with anything, I think we're done here."

"You're aware that we are searching your home and your office. It's better if you tell us what we're going to find before we find it. There is still time to help yourself." Jeffries said. Felicity thought he sounded frustrated and she knew they were relying on her confessing or their search to find something. They had nothing on her.

Joanna stood up. "Let's go, Felicity."

She rose from her seat and followed Joanna to the door. She turned to Amy and Jeffries. "I don't know what you think you're going to find, but I know what you'll find."

"Felicity." Joanna warned softly.

"You're not going to find anything other than my work for QC and lots and lots of wedding ideas from my future sister-in-law, thirty-three seasons of Doctor Who, a few innuendo laced emails to and from Oliver and lots of baby animal videos." She shook her head as if she felt sorry for the inconvenience they were putting themselves through. "There's nothing for you to find. I've done nothing wrong."

Joanna opened the door and was about to walk through it when a man blocked the exit. Joanna and Felicity took a step back to permit the man entry. Despite her five inch heels, Felicity couldn't see the man's face until Joanna stepped to the side. Whatever control she'd had over her emotions left her in an instant. A gasp escaped her as her vision narrowed and her heart began to race. Her knees buckled, but her eyes never left the eyes of the very first man she ever fell in love with. "You're dead. They told me you were dead."

The man knelt in front of her and touched her cheek. His fingers were cold, but she clutched his hand and pressed it against her face. "I'm sorry, Felicity. I'm not as dead as the world thinks."

She reached out and placed her hand on his chest. She could feel his heart beat beneath her fingertips. "Coop? How? I went to your funeral."

"Can we get her a glass of water?" Coop asked Jeffries as he helped her to her feet and gently lowered her into a chair. She was vaguely aware that Jeffries left the room.

Felicity couldn't get her hands to release the grip she had on his arms. The day she learned he hung himself was the worst day of her life. When he died, she became almost an entirely different person. The cosmetic change from Goth to quirky IT girl was the most obvious, however, the changes to her personality were more dramatic. She'd gone from in your face defiant to a shrinking wallflower. She went from hacking to clearing porn off of corporate computers. Cooper's death had made her afraid of her abilities. Her brain was dangerous and she believed it had cost Coop his life. It wasn't until Oliver walked into her office that she'd started coming back to life. All of his favors accompanied by ridiculous stories shook her out of her comfortable, albeit sedate, existence. Joining Oliver on his mission had reawakened her love of hacking and belief in social justice. If Cooper hadn't died, her life would've taken a completely different trajectory. She'd spent years wondering what her life would've been like if Coop hadn't been arrested, but now she loved her life. She looked into Coop's eyes and for a moment she felt guilty. She'd been able to move on after losing Coop. She couldn't fathom her life without Oliver. "I don't understand."

Cooper wiped the tears falling down her face with his thumbs. "They offered me a deal. They needed help with cyber espionage and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in prison." He smiled sadly at her. "I wasn't strong enough to face a lifetime in prison, so I chose to live free and let everyone I loved believe I was dead."

Felicity understood why Coop made the choice he did. The thought of life in prison terrified her when she allowed herself to dwell on worse case scenarios. But even though she understood, she was hurt. "I loved you." She grasped his face between her hands. "I mourned for you, for years. How could you let me and your parents, oh God, Coop, your poor mom was absolutely heartbroken."

He turned away from her and folded his arms across his chest. "I wasn't left with much choice, was I?" The warmth in his voice was gone. He sounded angry. "I waited for you to come forward with the truth, but you never did."

"I'm not the person who chose to wipe those loans." Felicity suddenly remember they had an audience and couldn't have a frank conversation. It occurred to her that Cooper probably hadn't revealed that she'd actually written the virus he'd taken the credit for. If he told the FBI that she was the real creator it would undermine his credibility. At most, he probably said she knew the code because she was sleeping with him. He'd always been a little insecure about her being so much smarter than he was. His ego might just save her. "You work for the FBI now?" She was struggling to reconcile the reckless boy she knew who was willing to risk everything to thumb his nose at the government with the man standing before her.

As if reading her mind, he said, "Better working for the government and helping people than schilling for a corporation in thousand dollar shoes. I guess getting out of the trailer park was more important than your soul."

"What are you talking about?" Felicity was shocked at his assessment of her life.

"What happened to your idealism? You threw it all away for a handsome billionaire." He accused with contempt.

She was about to defend herself when she remembered that to the outside world she was a corporate drone marrying her wealthy boss. Coop didn't know that her idealism was alive and well and she was determined to save her city with the help of a team of heroes. "Maybe I grew up. Maybe what I want out of life has changed."

He snorted in derision. "Marrying a billionaire isn't enough? You need to steal from criminals?"

"What?" Felicity shook her head in disbelief. She routinely stole from criminals, but never for herself. Every penny she ever took either went back to whomever it was originally stolen from or was donated to a charity. Even the money she'd taken from Isabel and Slade to keep Team Arrow afloat while Oliver was broke. Once he had his fortune back, she'd anonymously donated the equivalent of what she'd taken to charities in the Glade. "I don't need to steal money."

"Was it payment for services rendered?" Amy asked.

"Services rendered?" Felicity asked in confusion.

"Hold on one moment." Joanna interrupted. "You brought in Miss Smoak to discuss a crime that happened seven years ago. You clearly don't have evidence linking her to that crime, but you're trying to link her to current crimes. Where's your evidence?"

"I promise, all will be revealed. It is clear that Oscar has been receiving assistance to evade law enforcement with the help of someone with computer expertise." Coop said from where he was leaning against the wall.

She wanted to ask them about all the anonymous tips to the SCPD that alerted them to drugs and weapons entering the port. She wanted to ask about all the evidence delivered to the District Attorney's office revealing the corruption at City Hall. Yes, she and Oliver had cooperated with Oscar, but only when he wasn't transporting dangerous goods. They'd been so successful at undermining Oscar that he'd placed a hit on Oliver and had tried to have her abducted. "I would never work for Oscar."

"Maybe not willingly." Jeffries offered. "Maybe he threatened you."

Felicity hadn't noticed the agent return or place a bottle of water in front of her. Oliver wouldn't be pleased with her lack of situational awareness. She needed to stay calm."I'm not working for Oscar."

"If you're not his employee, did you take his money out of revenge?" Amy asked.

"Revenge? What are you talking about?" Felicity felt like she'd fallen into an alternative universe.

"Oscar Orlov had your mother killed and you took his money for revenge." Amy said as if it were the most reasonable explanation.

Felicity laughed at the absurdity of what was happening. They weren't even close to the truth. Her mom wasn't killed by Oscar, but by her boyfriend. Richie had been aiming for Felicity but had shot her mom accidentally. Or at least, Felicity thought it was an accident. Felicity wasn't looking for revenge, she was looking for justice for all the women Oscar trafficked and every person who died in a fire caused by his faulty building materials. She was also looking to protect her real family from Oscar's sick game. "This sounds like a bad plot from a made for TV movie. I make a very good living and as you pointed out, I'm about to marry a billionaire. What would I need with Oscar's money?"

"An x-axis bionumeric algorithm." Cooper smugly folded his arms across his chest from where he was still leaning against the wall.

"What about it?" Felicity suddenly felt much more confident. If Cooper thought she'd used the same code from their time together at MIT, he couldn't be more mistaken.

"It was what was used to empty Orlov's accounts." Felicity did an internal fist pump. Cooper's arrogance had always been his weakness.

She shrugged. "Lots of computer science grads use bionumeric algorithms."

Coop pushed off the wall he was leaning against. He placed his hands on the table in front of her and leaned into her with his forehead almost touching hers."You forget, I know what to look for when hunting you. You're code is a work of art."

He was bluffing. He might've known what to look for when she was twenty, but she was a whole lot more sophisticated now. She left nothing behind. He was right, she was an artist, but what made her work invaluable was that it was invisible. "If you have evidence, then arrest me, but I know you don't have any because I haven't done what you're accusing me of."

"I agree with my client. Even with your histrionics and ex- lovers back from the dead, you still don't have anything. Don't come near my client again without evidence to support your accusations. We will sue for harassment if you approach her again." Joanna gestured for Felicity and she rose from her chair.

Felicity turned to look at Cooper. "I'm glad you're not dead, but you're wrong about me."

He shook his head. "I don't think that I am. I've been watching you since you graduated. Waiting for you to screw up. You finally did."

Joanna escorted Felicity from the building. Parked out front was the Bentley with Oliver and Diggle leaning against it. The sight of the two of them had her breathing a momentary sigh of relief. "You're supposed to be on your honeymoon." She said accusingly.

Dig shook his head. "Did you actually believe I would leave knowing you were in trouble?"

She shot a look at Oliver. "You weren't supposed to find out."

Dig laughed. "It's funny that you think either of you can keep a secret from me. I knew something was wrong the moment you left the reception with Oliver and Laurel."

"Lyla must hate me." Felicity said guiltily. The very last thing she wanted to happen tonight was for Diggle and Lyla not to get to leave for their honeymoon because of her.

"Hey," Dig took her by the arms, "we could never hate you. None of this is your fault."

"But your honeymoon?"

"Do you want to know the best thing about having a billionaire for a best man?" Dig winked at her.

"He smells really good." Felicity teased.

Dig and Oliver both laughed. "Close. He lets you use his private jet to go to Fiji. Lyla and I will go as soon as we know you're okay."

"Is she okay?" Oliver asked Joanna.

Joanna gave him a tight smile. Even though Laurel had forgiven Oliver, her best friend hadn't. The lawyer would never be his fan. "They think they know something, but they can't prove it. As long as the search of the mansion and office turn up nothing and everything remains speculation, I think she's in the clear. I'll have my assistant call you in the morning to set up an appointment. We need to develop plans for all contingencies."

Oliver extended his hand. "Thank you."

"Yes, thank you for giving up your Saturday night for me." Felicity hugged Joanna.

"You're welcome. Call me if something happens tonight." She handed Oliver her card.

Oliver, Dig and Felicity watched Joanna walk away. "Are you okay?" Oliver asked as he finally pulled Felicity into his arms.

"I am now." She tightened her grip around him.

"Do you want to tell me why I found your ring in my pocket?" He opened his hand to reveal her ring.

Felicity groaned and looked up at him. He was wearing his inscrutable Arrow expression, so he was either mad, scared or constipated. "We probably should talk about that." He scowled at her. "I guess you're angry and not in need of a prune danish."

Diggle burst out laughing and opened the rear passenger door for them. "I'd like to get you both to the lair so we can debrief, because, as you pointed out, tonight is my honeymoon."

"Right, sorry." Felicity slid into the car with Oliver right behind her.

When Dig closed the door Oliver took her hand and slid the ring back onto her finger. "We'll talk as much as you want to, but this ring, it is never coming off again."

She nodded her head and he put his arm around her shoulder. Dig got into the car. "So, what did I miss when I left?" She asked as cheerfully as she could muster.

"Other than my best man's fiancé getting dragged off by the Feds?" Dig grinned at her in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, other than that." Felicity asked, ignoring Oliver's clear agitation.

"Thea caught the bouquet." Dig's eyes were now twinkling in delight.

Felicity burst out laughing. She wrapped her arms around Oliver's neck. He was wearing his grouchy face and she couldn't help loving him all the more for it. Thea would always be the knobby-kneed twelve year old he'd left behind when he left on the Gambit. "My poor Oliver isn't having a good night." She lightly scratched his head until she could feel him relax.

Eventually he dropped his head to her shoulder and placed a kiss against her neck. "It's getting better."

"Dig?" Felicity asked urgently. At the sound of his name he made eye contact with her in the rearview mirror. "Can you drive any faster? I really need to pee."

VVVVV

Oliver and Felicity were eating a late breakfast in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Her debrief with Oliver and Dig had taken several hours and they hadn't gotten home until nearly dawn. Once she started talking about her time at MIT and everything with Cooper Selden her real interrogation began. Her partners were relentless in their questioning. Hoping to find anything that could leave her vulnerable to the FBI. More than once, she'd broken down in tears, but they continued peppering her with tough questions. When they finally finished, Diggle called Lyla and they decided that Fiji could wait. Felicity had used her loud voice, but Dig would not be persuaded. By the time she and Oliver had climbed into bed she'd been both physically and emotionally exhausted. They would probably still be asleep if Joanna's assistant hadn't called to let them know they had an appointment before lunch.

Thea entered the kitchen with a stricken look on her face. "Please don't tell me the reporters are now ringing the doorbell." Felicity pushed her cereal away. "I feel like we should get dogs just so we can say, release the hounds."

Oliver smiled and placed his hand on her knee. "What's up, Speedy?"

Thea suddenly burst into tears. "I'm so sorry, the FBI is here. They want to see Felicity. Do you think they're here to arrest her?"

Oliver pulled Joanna's card out of his wallet and handed it to Thea. "I need you to call Joanna, Laurel and Dig - in that order - and tell them what's happening."

Thea nodded her head as she pulled her cell from her rear pocket. "Okay. I put them in the family room."

Felicity rose from her chair and smoothed her skirt. "Do I look like twenty miles of bad road?"

"You look beautiful." He laced his fingers through hers. "No matter what, we're in this together."

Oliver led her to the family room. Amy Abbott and Daniel Jeffries stood in front of the fireplace looking at family photos. "Agent Abbott." Oliver released Felicity's hand to shake Amy's. He turned to Jeffries and extended his hand. "Oliver Queen."

Jeffries shook Oliver's hand. "Daniel Jeffries." From the slight grimace on Jeffries' face, Felicity knew that Oliver had tightened his grip before releasing his hand.

"What can we do for you this morning?" Oliver asked politely. "Would you like coffee or tea?"

"No, thank you." Amy said, clearly thrown by Oliver's polite behavior. "We need to speak with Felicity."

Felicity gestured to the sofa. "Please, take a seat. My lawyer is on her way and I'll be happy to answer more of your questions."

The agents sat on the sofa and Oliver and Felicity sat opposite. "I don't think Ms. de la Vega's presence will be necessary. You might prefer Oliver to step out as well."

Felicity couldn't imagine what Amy and Jeffries thought they had on her that she'd want to send Oliver from the room. "Oliver and I don't keep secrets. Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of him."

"Please remember, we gave you the option." Amy's smile was insincere.

"What do you want, Amy?" Oliver asked coolly.

"We received a phone call from Amanda Waller this morning." Felicity did her best not to react at the name. Oliver's expression remained blank.

"Why didn't you tell us that you're an A.R.G.U.S. agent?" Jeffries asked with barely masked hostility.

Oliver had gone rigid by her side. This was his worst nightmare. Waller had offered her a job the prior summer and she'd considered accepting for about thirty seconds before Oliver had a complete meltdown. They'd been broke and she'd been feeling a bit desperate about their ability to keep the team going when she'd received the offer from A.R.G.U.S. Oliver convinced her that they'd never be desperate enough to accept any offer from that woman. Unfortunately, Amanda Waller always seemed to get what she wanted and she'd now found a way to get Felicity. She would be forever indebted to the head of A.R.G.U.S. _Frackity frack._ She couldn't very well deny what Waller had told them that morning. Oliver rubbed his thumb across her knuckles and she knew he was in agreement. "I wasn't at liberty to say anything."

"We wanted to let you know that we're dropping our line of inquiry and we apologize for any inconvenience. We've sent a letter stating such to your lawyer and we'll release a statement to the media that you aren't under suspicion for any crime and that you were consulting on a case." Amy rose from the sofa and shot a look at Jeffries who reluctantly rose from his seat.

"Thank you for coming to tell me in person." Felicity said as she rose from the sofa and began to escort them to the front door. She noticed Oliver hadn't followed.

"It's professional courtesy between agencies." Amy said with a smile. She extended her hand. "Good luck with your investigation."

Felicity shook both of their hands. "Thank you." She opened the door to let them out. Dig and Lyla stood on the threshold. Her friends stepped aside to let the agents pass.

Dig and Lyla entered the foyer and Felicity closed the door and leaned against it. She took a deep breath as she tried to process what had just happened.

"What's going on?" Dig asked with concern.

Before she could respond a crash echoed through the house and she took off in a run with Dig and Lyla behind her. They entered the family room to find the coffee table flipped over and Oliver pulling on his hair as he paced the room. "I'm going to kill your boss." Oliver said to Lyla. "If she thinks this is how she gets her claws into Felicity, she better think again."

"What's going on?" Dig asked again.

"Waller told the FBI that I'm an A.R.G.U.S. agent." Felicity said calmly.

Dig spun around to look at Lyla. "Did you know about this?"

Lyla looked equally horrified. "Of course not. Let me call her and see what's going on."

Dig helped Felicity right the coffee table. She was going to need to get a vacuum cleaner to suck up all the broken glass. She wasn't going to have the staff clean up after one of his temper tantrums. Oliver approached her slowly. "I'm sorry. I'll clean it up."

After everything she learned about what Waller had done to him in Hong Kong, she could understand his reaction. "It's okay. We'll figure it out."

"We won't let Waller near her." Dig promised.

Lyla entered the room with a stunned look on her face. "Um, Amanda says that Felicity and Oliver don't owe her anything. She said it was a wedding present, to us."

"What?" Dig looked as confused as Lyla.

"She said she wants me to enjoy our honeymoon in Fiji and she knew you wouldn't leave as long as Felicity was in trouble."

"So, my get out of jail free card is your wedding present?" Felicity was struggling to process what Lyla was saying.

"I guess." Lyla shrugged.

"Well, that's a totally sucky gift for you. I mean, come on, how cheap is that woman?" Felicity said with a grin. "I hope she at least got you something off the registry."

Lyla started to laugh. "No, but she did send me corn on the cob holders."

Felicity let out a giggle that turned into hysterical laughter. "That is the best thing I've ever heard." She turned to Oliver. "What do you think she'll give us?"

"Probably a plastic napkin holder." Lyla offered and both women burst into another round of hysterical laughter.

Dig continued to look stunned and Oliver looked annoyed. "Lyla," he shouted to be heard over the laughing. She looked at him and covered her mouth to stop her laughter. Felicity turned away from Lyla so she wouldn't make eye contact and start another round of the giggles. "Do you believe her? Amanda doesn't do anything without expecting something in return."

Lyla straightened her shoulders. "I do. I honestly think she's trying to do a nice thing, for all of us."

"Amanda isn't capable of doing nice." Oliver looked to Diggle who nodded in agreement.

"You have to admit, it's out of character for her. She's been pretty vocal about wanting Felicity's skill set." Dig said to his new bride.

Lyla sighed. "If she was really looking to make Felicity a permanent A.R.G.U.S. asset, she'd feed the FBI evidence and then wait for her to be convicted. She'd present Felicity with the choice of life in jail or life in A.R.G.U.S. I think we need to accept this for what she says is, a gift."

"And if it isn't?" Oliver still looked skeptical.

"Oliver, I promise you that if Amanda is lying, I'll make sure she never gets near Felicity." Lyla said solemnly.

Oliver looked to Felicity and Diggle. His partners both shrugged. He nodded his head, took a deep breath and visibly relaxed. "Okay. I'll call the pilot and tell him to prepare the jet for a flight to Fiji." He grinned at his guests. "It's time you guys went on your honeymoon."

Felicity bounced up and down and clapped her hands. "Yay, Fiji."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> Up Next: Oscar makes his move.


	10. July

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar makes his move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the amount of time it has taken me to post this chapter. I've had the chapter finished for weeks, but I couldn't decide if I wanted the story to take a slightly dark turn. I finally decided that this is a story about the Bratva and Oscar is a real villain. As a warning, there is some strong violence in this chapter. There is also some romance, so I hope that helps.
> 
> I want to thank everyone who was kind enough to leave me a comment or a kudos. I appreciated everyone who encouraged me to continue the story. A warm welcome to all of my new readers. A special thanks to ohmypreciousgirl for choosing this series as one of her recs and the kind things she said about my portrayal of Olicity during author appreciation week.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

The large oak kitchen table at the mansion was Felicity's favorite place to work. Raisa was always nearby with freshly brewed coffee and snacks. The woman would often hum as she went about her work and the domesticity of it was reassuring. It reminded her of doing homework at Rosie's table as her aunt prepared supper. Felicity sat next to Roy at the table as she assisted him with his homework. He'd decided to take two courses over the summer and was struggling with a program he'd written for his computer science class. Felicity had easily seen the error in his code, but she was trying to help him find the error on his own. If he didn't find it by the time she and Oliver left for dinner, she'd point it out.

"Ready?" Oliver asked as he walked into the kitchen straightening his tie.

She raised her brows at his intimation that she was the one running behind schedule. "Yes. Are you?"

He nodded his head. "I think so. It's just dinner, right?" He brushed his hands over his suit jacket nervously. Felicity couldn't help but smile at how endearing he could be when he was nervous about a social event.

"Do you have your yarmulke?" She asked as she leaned over Roy's shoulder and pointed to the line of broken code. He slapped his forehead and groaned when he saw his error.

Oliver reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a pink satin yarmulke the color of cotton candy. Felicity couldn't help but smile. Her Aunt Rosie had given him a yarmulke that had been given out at Felicity's bat mitzvah. Felicity had told him that it was unnecessary for him to wear a pink yarmulke and that, over the years, she'd collected dozens of them in every color and material imaginable, but he insisted. He smiled at her. "Pink brings out the color of my eyes. Or at least that's what Rosie told me."

"I think I have some double sided tape in my purse. A bobby pin isn't going to work on your buzz cut." Felicity eyed him as if she were measuring the size of his head against the circumference of the yarmulke. "We better head out. We've got to be there before the sun goes down."

"Okay, any last minute pointers?" Oliver asked, his eyes wide with worry.

"First, there is no need to mention my deep and abiding love for bacon cheeseburgers. That's between you, me, Big Belly and God." She said solemnly. "I come clean every Yom Kippur."

Oliver smiled. "Right, no references to your frequent violations of kosher dietary laws."

"Don't show off your Hebrew either. It's obnoxious." Felicity teased. She was equal parts proud and annoyed with his ability to pick up foreign languages. In a few short months Oliver had become fluent. Since their engagement, he spent several evenings a week listening to the Rosetta Stone's Hebrew lessons. Their recent movie nights had become an overview of Israeli cinema - she needed the subtitles, he didn't. She would never understand how anyone, including Oliver, thought he wasn't intelligent.

"You're just jealous." He gave her a chaste peck on the lips. "I'm the rabbi's best student."

She playfully rolled her eyes at his boasting. For the first time in his life, he was actually getting to enjoy being a good student. "Oh, don't talk about religion, either." Felicity said as she retrieved her purse from the counter.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Felicity, we're having dinner with our rabbi and his family. I see him three days a week for lessons. It's possible religion will come up."

"And you can artfully change the subject. Rabbi Finkel is a huge Rocket's fan." She smiled coquettishly.

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure he's going to bring up the fact that you haven't been attending weekly services with me."

She sighed. "I'm busy helping to run your business and your vigilante-ing. Besides, Aunt Rosie goes with you every week." Her aunt had been thrilled to have someone take her to temple. It had been an opportunity for the two to bond and Felicity didn't want to interfere. Oliver took Rosie out to eat after services or she made him something at home and they watched embarrassing childhood videos of Felicity dancing, competing as a mathlete or whatever other mortifying video Rosie had taken over the years. Felicity was happy that Oliver and Rosie got along as well as they did, even if they ganged up on her.

He smiled broadly. "Yes and I'm pretty sure everyone at the temple thinks that she's my fiancé."

"You should be so lucky." Roy said under his breath without looking up from his computer. Thea and Roy had been spending a lot of time with Rosie setting up her dance studio in the Glades. The two young adults also spent a lot of time over at Rosie's apartment. Felicity suspected that both Thea and Roy were secretly enjoying having a maternal figure fuss over them.

"Okay, if it comes up, I'll promise to start attending next week." Felicity bit her lip as she tried to decide what other topics Oliver should avoid. "Oh, don't talk about politics, especially about Israel. I'm not sure who is going to be there tonight, but everyone always has a firm opinion and it can lead to some heated disagreements. It's best to avoid it."

"Okay, no religion and no politics." Oliver agreed. "Anything else?"

"Don't bring up Palestine, at all." Felicity instructed.

"Why would I bring up Palestine?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"Man, I thought you were studying this stuff." Roy said, his face still hidden by his computer screen. "Total trick question." Oliver glared at the top of Roy's head.

Oliver dragged his hands over his face. "How about I avoid religion, politics and the entire Middle East - just to be safe?"

"Just keep your mouth shut and look pretty. It's the only reason she's marrying you." Roy smirked.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be?" Oliver asked Roy pointedly.

"No, but you do." Roy struggled to keep a straight face.

"Just be yourself." Felicity didn't acknowledge Roy's snort, but she knew he made a fair point. "Okay, yourself, but less broody. I'm sure no one will want to discuss religion or politics with you. The rabbi's teenage daughters will spend the whole night blushing and staring at you. We'll probably just get a lot of wedding questions. I'm sure everything will be fine." She said with more confidence than she actually felt as she picked up their hostess gift from the table.

"Of course everything will be fine. What could go wrong?" Oliver tried not to wince as the fateful words left his mouth.

Roy burst out laughing. "You're doomed. Do yourselves a favor, call and tell them you got a flat tire."

"My revenge will be swift and unexpected." Oliver glared at his protégé.

The young man pointed at Felicity. "She's teaching me how to drain bank accounts."

"I'll just have to exact my vengeance before she finishes your training." Oliver said in his best Arrow voice.

Felicity laced her fingers through Oliver's. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

As they exited through the kitchen door, Roy called out to them. "Good luck."

She shook her head as Oliver lifted the hand that wasn't holding hers and flipped Roy the bird. It was going to be a very long night. She hoped the rabbi was serving decent kosher wine and not Manischewitz.

VVVVV

Between the upcoming wedding and her being brought in for questioning by the FBI, the press had become insatiable. There had been security breaches at QC, both in the garage and inside the building. Every time either of them left the house, they were swarmed. Motorcycles with paparazzi would surround their car as soon as they left the mansion's gates until they pulled into the QC parking garage. There had been several near accidents when a motorcycle would get too close or would fail to yield to oncoming traffic. The press had gone beyond being a nuisance to downright dangerous. The police even had to respond one afternoon when Felicity and Thea had been surrounded by a swarm of cameras after visiting a potential wedding florist. Roy and Rob had been with them, but the cameramen had become aggressive and they were forced to retreat back into the store and wait for the police. Felicity had clung to Thea as they'd been pushed and clawed at. Thea's shirt was torn in the struggle and Felicity had received a gash on the back of the head from someone's camera. She'd been afraid the night of her first date with Vic when paparazzi on motorcycles surrounded her car and followed her home, but outside the florist she'd been terrified. There was so much footage of the swarm that the SCPD were able to make arrests, which did little to quiet Oliver's rage.

Oliver decided to start running decoys again so they could leave the mansion on mornings they wanted to do personal wedding errands or just wanted to be alone. Dig hired two female security guards who could pass for Felicity and a second guard who could pass for Oliver. Between the decoys, rotating the vehicles they used and staggering the times of day they left the mansion they'd been successful in evading much of the media when they went to visit wedding vendors.

Felicity was leaning against the Mercedes roadster waiting for Oliver and Diggle to finish speaking with Dave and Beth, their decoys for the morning. She was taking Oliver to see the two venues that she and Thea had narrowed the list to. She was pretty sure that Oliver wasn't thrilled with spending his Saturday looking at rooms and tasting food options, but she was happy to be getting some time alone with him. Between their jobs, day and night, and the wedding, they were both under a lot of stress and she could feel it wearing on them. On top of everything, Oscar had them both in knots. He'd gone silent shortly after Felicity had drained his accounts. Felicity had been right to load spyware onto Oscar's computer. In his panic, he led her to all of his holdings after she successfully drained the accounts her webcrawler had uncovered. He was broke and probably desperate, but he was probably too busy saving his own skin to worry about Oliver, or that's what she was telling herself. Oliver said that it was only a matter of time before Oscar realized that they were the ones responsible for his troubles and that they couldn't afford to become complacent.

"Ready?" Oliver asked as he approached her. He was tense and his jaw was clenched.

"Yep." She smiled at Dig who was opening her car door.

"Have fun. Remember, I like chocolate cake." Dig winked at her.

She laughed. "I think that can be arranged. I'll bring you back some samples." Dig closed her door and gave the roof of the car two pats.

"Dave and Beth are going to go first today. Dave will call when they reach White Oak Ridge Road and then we'll head out." He said without looking at her.

"Sounds like a plan." She said as she programmed the address for the first venue into the car's navigation system. "I thought we could take the coastal route home, maybe stop for dinner. I know we won't be hungry after all the tastings, but I thought it would be nice to sit out by the ocean."

"Mm-hmm," he said as he watched Dave and Beth pull out of the circular drive in the Bentley.

His brow was furrowed in worry and she was starting to wonder if there was something he was keeping from her. "Oliver, we don't have to do this today, or at all."

Her words snapped him out of it and he turned in his seat to face her. "What do you mean, or at all?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't mean cancel the wedding. I mean that Thea and I will make the final decision on the venue and the food. You have enough on your plate. You don't need to worry about our wedding venue."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. "I can't decide if you're trying to pick a fight with me."

She sat heavily against her seat and folded her arms across her chest. "Why would I be picking a fight with you?"

His fingers flexed on the wheel before turning on the ignition. "I'm in the car ready to spend the day with you and then you tell me that you don't want me to come with you."

She glared at him. "You're not being fair. That's not what I said and you know it."

At that moment, Diggle came running out of the house with his radio pressed against his ear. Oliver was opening his door when the sound of an explosion echoed across the grounds, shaking the car. A fireball was visible in the direction of White Oak Ridge Road. Oliver grabbed her hand. "Stay here." He sprinted towards the SUV that Diggle had already occupied. Before Oliver closed the passenger door, Dig sped off.

It took a moment for Felicity's brain to successfully communicate with her limbs. Once she was in control of her legs, she ran around the car and got into the driver's side and took off after Oliver and Dig. She sped down the road that led into the city. Dig had to be doing more than one hundred miles an hour. She called 911 to report the explosion and was told that the police, fire department and ambulances were already on route to the scene.

When she spotted the SUV in the distance, she began to slow down as her brain tried to process what she was seeing. A second explosion sent a plume of fire into the air. There was smoke and fire everywhere she looked. There was a car completely engulfed in flames and metal strewn all over the road and the surrounding fields. She parked the car off the road, removed the first aid kit from the trunk and began to approach the SUV. The air was heavy with smoke and reeked of gasoline and acrid chemicals. She could feel the heat from the burning vehicle. She knew that whoever had been in the vehicle couldn't have survived. She spotted several of the paparazzi along the side of the road. Some sat on the ground with their heads in their hands while others stood with stunned looks on their faces and their cameras hanging at their sides. She recognized many of them even though they were covered in soot and blood. Her feet began to pick up speed as she began to realize what had happened. Her eyes began to recognize the debris for what it was. Dismembered bodies were scattered along the pavement along with pieces of metal. Her foot hit what she recognized as a melted telephoto lens and her heart began to pound. She began to scan the area for the seriously wounded, hoping that she wouldn't only find the dead. Without thought, she was running at full speed when a pair of arms grabbed her from behind and lifted her from her feet. She fought to free herself before she realized the arms that held her belonged to Dig. He set her down and took hold of her shoulders. "You shouldn't be here. You need to go home."

Her eyes began to frantically search for Oliver. She tried to pull free. "Where's Oliver?"

"He's fine. He went to get a view from higher ground and to help the wounded." Dig said calmly. "Felicity, go back home. It's not safe." He was moving her back towards her car.

"The car." She searched Dig's face. "Dave and Beth?"

He nodded. Pain was etched into the lines on his forehead. "They're gone."

Another explosion tore through the burning car and Dig wrapped himself around Felicity and dropped them to the ground behind the SUV. Dig eventually sat up and was running his hands up and down her body, looking for injuries. His lips were moving, but all she could hear was a high pitched ringing. Dig grabbed hold of her face and she could see his lips form, "Felicity, are you okay?" She nodded and allowed him to help her to her feet. He pointed to an injured photographer that she realized he must have pulled from closer to the wreckage. "See what you can do for him. There are more wounded closer to the car."

"Be careful." She called after him as she approached the unconscious man. She quickly checked for a pulse and sighed with relief when she found one. Her time on Team Arrow had given her the ability to stay calm when there were injuries to tend to and she'd become a fairly decent field medic. Long gone was the woman who'd been squeamish at the sight of blood. She snapped on a pair of gloves and began to run her hands along the photographers body, checking for injuries. He appeared to be lucky. All of his limbs were in tack. His body was covered in shrapnel wounds, but none appeared to be deep except for one on his abdomen. She suspected he had a concussion and she prayed that the explosion hadn't caused internal bleeding. She removed a pair of scissors and the compression bandages from her first aid kit. She was grateful that all of their vehicles had hardcore medical supplies and not just gauze and alcohol wipes. She cut his shirt off, applied compression bandages to the worst of his wounds and began to scan the area for anyone else that required medical assistance.

The car was now a raging inferno and thick black smoke was billowing towards her. The first responders had finally arrived and were swarming the area. Two paramedics approached the man she'd been helping and she stepped away to give them room to work. Felicity turned to scan the surrounding fields, desperate for a sign of Oliver and Dig. They'd been gone for far too long. "Oliver. John," she shouted. "Oliver. John." She called their names over and over again, each time more desperate than the last. They finally emerged from the smoke, covered in soot. Both were carrying men over their shoulders and brought them to the waiting ambulances. She watched as he searched the area for her. As soon as he saw her he began running towards her and she moved to intercept him. His arms were wrapped around her and she buried her face against his neck. He pulled away from her and his hands began to run over her arms and side. "Are you hurt? You're covered in blood."

"It's not mine, I'm okay." The realization that Dave and Beth had died for them suddenly hit her and she clung to him as she sobbed.

vvvvv

Felicity lay on their bed waiting for Oliver to get out of the shower. She was coming down from the rush of adrenalin and she shivered despite being wrapped in a blanket. Her partners had brought her home and then had returned to the scene of the explosion in order to speak with the SCPD, but  not before Dig gave her something that made her feel like she was floating. Felicity had sent a quick SOS to Sara and prayed her friend wasn't too far away. Oliver was going to need her when he finally confronted Oscar. While she waited for Oliver to return, she'd taken a shower to wash the blood of the photographer from her body. She had washed her hair three times, but she could still smell smoke lingering.  

Oliver had probably been gone for hours, but time seemed to have stopped. She was stuck with the vision of the Bentley on fire and all of the surrounding carnage. Oliver exited the bathroom, dressed in a button down shirt and suit pants. She rose up onto her knees in surprise and concern. "Where are you going?"

"I need to go into the office for a few hours," he sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand. "I'll be home as soon as I can."

She moved to get off the bed. "I'll come with you."

He grabbed hold of her waist and moved her to sit astride his lap. "No, I need you to stay here."

"Are you really going into the office?" She was afraid he was going to go hunt for the person responsible for the day's bloodshed without any back up.

"I promise you, I'm just going to the office and I'll come straight back. Dig will be with me the whole time." He stretched to reach for her tablet. "You can track me if you want."

She tossed the tablet back onto the bed. She wouldn't track him. If he said he was going to the office, that's where he was going. She turned her attention back to the events of the morning. "Dave and Beth. Is someone talking to their families?"

He rested his forehead against hers. "Dig is handling it. I'll take care of all of the funeral expenses and the death benefits."

"It doesn't seem like enough." She whispered.

"No, it doesn't." He rested his forehead against hers.

"They died because of us - for us." She said angrily.

He shook his head. "They knew what they were getting into when they took the job. They knew it could be dangerous."

"The thought that they were being decoys for two spoiled rich people being hounded by the press. They didn't know that we'd pissed off the Bratva." Felicity watched Oliver turn away from her as his jaw ticked. She didn't need to tell him what he already knew. She could see his guilt in every line on his face. Her fingers nervously played with the collar of his shirt. "Do we know what happened?"

Oliver's hands tightened around her waist. "It looks like a RPG shot from a pretty good distance."

Felicity looked up at the windows of the their bedroom. Were they safe from a rocket launcher? Could anyone be safe from a rocket launcher? She reached for her tablet relieved that she could finally do something to help their situation. "A RPG is a pretty specific assassin M.O. I should be able to narrow that down."

He placed his hand over her tablet. "I need you to pack. Take what you'll need for a few weeks. Dig's going to arrange a safe house for you, Thea and Rosie. Roy's gone for Rosie, they'll be here soon. You're leaving as soon as I get back."

Felicity looked into Oliver's eyes and didn't like what she saw. "What about you?"

He pulled her onto his lap. "I'm not coming. I'm going to end this with Oscar, once and for all. No one else is going to get hurt."

She clasped his face between her hands. "I've never let you leave me somewhere safe while you faced danger before, why do you think I'll do it now?"

He gently moved her from his lap and stood up. "Felicity. I nearly got you killed this morning. I wanted to go first, but Dig argued against it. If I hadn't listened to him," tears spilled down his face.

She shook her head as she tried to deflect the guilt that was radiating off of him. "If something happened to us this morning, it wouldn't have been your fault. The person who fired that RPG is responsible. Oscar is responsible."

He put on the sports coat that he'd draped over her desk chair. "When I asked you to join our team, I promised Dig that we'd keep you safe. I don't know how to do that if you stay here. My focus needs to be on taking Oscar out. I can't afford the distraction."

She ran her hands through her hair and she laughed sharply. "From the moment I found you in the back of my car all I've ever tried to do is to keep you safe. Now what do we do? Because I'm not leaving."

Oliver buttoned his coat and smoothed his lapels. As his hands passed along his chest the emotion appeared to drain from his face. Felicity watched him become detached and she was instantly reminded of how he'd been when they first met and he'd cover his head with his hood before leaving the foundry. "This is happening because of the choices I made before I ever met you. I won't let you pay for my sins."

Fear and anger were fighting with equal measure to be expelled from her. She took a deep breath so logic and reason would prevail. She needed Oliver to listen to her. "This has nothing to do with you being the Arrow or your time away. This is happening because of my mother. We can send Thea and Rosie away, but don't ask me to go."

He strode up to her and kissed her deeply. When he pulled back, he looked into her eyes. "I love you. We'll discuss this when I get home."

The door was almost completely shut behind him, when she realized she hadn't said it back. "Oliver," she cried out franticly. He opened the door wider and raised his brow in question. "I love you too."

He smiled and closed the door behind him.

vvvvv

After Oliver left for QC, she'd immediately connected to her system at the lair and began to hunt for the RPG assassin. RPGs weren't elegant weapons and were shockingly easy to acquire. It didn't take a lot of skill to operate one and she feared that finding the killer might not be easy. Luckily, there weren't too many assassins in the world who favored RPGs. She was able to narrow down her selection and began a facial recognition search. She was able to spot the suspect entering a hotel and she sent her lead to Captain Lance. She thought of notifying Oliver and Dig before Lance, but she didn't want either of them anywhere near the man who killed Dave and Beth. By the time Oliver had returned home, the SCPD had made their arrest and according to Captain Lance there was plenty of evidence to connect him to the murders of their security team and the three paparazzi who'd been caught in the initial explosion. Felicity knew that Oscar would only send someone else, but for tonight, they could sleep without the fear of an RPG coming through their window.

Oliver walked into their bedroom as he disconnected a call. "The jet just took off with Rosie, Thea and Roy. A car will be waiting for them to take them directly to Walter's penthouse on 5th Avenue."

It had been decided that Thea and Rosie would go to NYC in order to meet with designers for their gowns for the wedding as well as for Thea to sign off on the clothes to be worn by Felicity for the photo shoot. Rosie and Thea had been excited with the prospect of a week or two in Manhattan. Roy had seemed less thrilled. "Poor Roy," Felicity said from her spot on the bed. "Following Thea and Rosie around while they meet with designers has got to be ranked below cleaning the lair's bathroom on Roy's list of fun activities."

Oliver sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes. "He told Dig that he had homework to do and that he was going to miss too many classes as he boarded the plane."

"Miracles do happen. Maybe he'll actually study while he's away." She moved to the end of the bed and placed her arms around his neck. "Are you okay?"

He leaned his head back and rest it against her shoulder. "I'm okay. How about you?"

"The same." She said, disappointed when he pulled away and headed into their closet. She followed after him. He had pulled his shirt from his pants and was about to undo the buttons on his shirt when she pushed his hands away so she could do it. He allowed his arms to relax at his sides, closed his eyes and he hummed a little as her arms moved along his chest. "Can we talk about what happened in our car this morning?" She asked hesitantly. He opened one eye to look at her and nodded. She began to unbutton his cuffs. "I honestly wasn't picking a fight with you this morning. I've been looking forward to today all week." She pushed the shirt from his shoulders.

When she went to lift his t-shirt, he stopped her. He brought her hands up and held them against his chest. "That was my fault. I'm frustrated with the Oscar situation and I took it out on you. I'm sorry, I was an ass."

She gripped his shirt tightly with her fingers. "I keep thinking that if we were the ones that died this morning, we would've been fighting. I can't bear to think of you dying angry with me or thinking I was angry with you."

"Hey." He pulled her into his arms and ran his fingers through her hair. "No more fights about the wedding minutia. No more taking out our stress on each other. Okay?"

She looked up at him and he kissed her gently. "Okay."

"Felicity, I need you to know that if something were to happen to me and the last words spoken between us were spoken in anger, I don't want you to punish yourself over it. If I died this morning, I would've died knowing that you've made me the luckiest man by loving me and letting me love you."

"Oliver, I," he stopped her words with a kiss.

"Do you love me any less because I was a jackass this morning?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "No, of course not."

"Because you fell in love with me knowing I was a jackass." There was a teasing glint in his eyes.

She laughed. "Yes, that's true."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "So, how can you think I'd love you any less because you used your loud voice this morning?"

Felicity stretched up on her toes and kissed him to remind him that he was loved and that they were still alive.

Later that night as she snuggled into Oliver's side she asked, "Are you going to tell me what you were working on at QC today?" His chest tensed beneath her fingers. "Don't tell me it was QC related, I know it wasn't."

Oliver pressed a kiss to the top of her head and tightened his arms around her. She thought he might be trying to distract her when his hand traveled beneath her tank top and he began to draw patterns along her spine. She was about to call him out for his evasiveness when he said, "I ran into the faceless man in the hat last night."

Felicity lifted herself so she was leaning against his chest in an attempt to make out his face in the low light. Up until last night, even when the Question made himself known to the team he'd only ever spoken with her."The Question? Why didn't you tell me last night?"

Oliver ran his fingers through her hair, "When I got back you and Thea were laughing and I didn't want to ruin the moment. By the time we went to sleep, I forgot about it."

"Mmm." She wasn't quite sure she believed that Oliver ever forgot anything. "So, what did he want?"

"He asked me to protect you and to warn Oliver Queen." She felt his chest tense beneath her fingers as if he was bracing himself for her loud voice.

"Protect me?" She asked, "From what? Why do you need to be warned?"

"He heard that a new assassin had come to town with instructions to take out Oliver Queen, no matter what - even collateral damage. The Question wants the Arrow to keep you from becoming collateral damage."

Felicity gasped and tried to sit up, but Oliver held her tightly against him. "Please tell me you didn't meet with the Bratva at the office."

"I did not meet with the Bratva," he said in his most reassuring voice.

Felicity could feel fear crawling up her spine. Whatever he was keeping from her, had to be worse than an assassin in town. In almost a whisper she asked, "Why did you go to the office?"

He took a deep breath and she knew the next words out of his mouth wouldn't be to her liking. "I had a meeting with Ned."

This time Felicity succeeded in freeing herself from his embrace when she pulled away to sit up. Oliver meeting with his lawyer wasn't unusual, but she was suddenly afraid to ask, "Why did you meet with Ned?"

Oliver sighed and sat up against the headboard. He reached for the lamp on his night table and the room was bathed in a soft yellow light. They both blinked rapidly at one another as their eyes adjusted to the light. She retrieved her glasses because she needed to see him clearly for whatever he was about to tell her. The look on Oliver's face was sad and a little apologetic, but it filled her with dread. She backed away from him, but he grabbed her hands. "I wanted to make sure that you, Thea and QC are taken care of in the event of my death."

Felicity let out an almost animalistic sound of grief. "I don't need to be taken care of." She pulled her hands from his and scrambled out of the bed. "I only need you."

Oliver swung his legs over the edge of the bed and extended his hands to her. "Felicity," he said gently.

Felicity shook her head and backed away from him. "You don't get to hide that you knew an assassin was in town and think that meeting with your family lawyer to make sure I'm financially okay makes it better. I don't want you planning for your death."

"Felicity, I don't think that." He rose from the bed and approached her. When she took a step back he practically growled, "Damn it, don't pull away from me." Felicity nodded her head and took a step towards him. He grasped her by her shoulders. "I've been reckless. As soon as I took up the hood, I should've made arrangements. I have a lot of responsibilities and people depending on me now. It's more than just making sure that Thea, Roy, Dig and you are financially secure. If something were to happen to me, what happens to QC? What happens to all of QC's employees? Thea's not ready to take over."

Felicity placed her hand over his heart. The steady thrumming in his chest reassured her. "The board will appoint someone. Walter will come back. The company will be fine."

He placed his hand over hers. "The company needs stability. It needs a Queen at the helm that shares our vision." 

She was about to remind him of what he'd just said about Thea when the look in his eyes revealed his intent. She pushed against his chest, but he didn't release her. "Don't you dare," she gasped. "Don't you dare ask me to do that because you think you're going to die on me."

"Felicity," he sighed. The sadness in his voice nearly broke her. "We'll still have the big wedding, but I need to make you my wife as soon as possible. If I die before we're married, you and Thea might not be able to hold onto QC. If we're not married, the estate tax would leave you and Thea vulnerable."

"Taxes?" She asked in disbelief. "Really? That's your argument?" He winced at her loud voice. "I have to say, it isn't your most persuasive."

"Felicity. It's not just taxes." He rubbed his hands over his head in frustration.

"Please Oliver, not like this. Not because you're afraid." She began to cry.

Oliver put his arms around her and her arms snaked around his waist. He whispered into her hair, "It's okay. Sshhh. Please don't cry. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't ask unless we had any other choice. I need to know that the both of you will be protected. I need to know that neither of you will be alone - that you'll be a family and look out for one another."

 She didn't care about the big wedding. She would've married him at the courthouse the morning after he proposed. But, this felt different. He wasn't asking her to elope because he was overcome with love and decided he couldn't wait another moment to be her husband. He was asking her to elope for legal and financial reasons because he thought he was going to die. She pulled away from his chest and was about to tell him no in her loud voice when she saw the look upon his face. He was asking her to do this for his peace of mind. He needed reassurance that if he died, Thea and she would be bound together as sisters. He asked so little of her, she couldn't deny him something that lifted a burden from his shoulders. "When?"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Ned has made all the arrangements. A judge will be here at nine tomorrow morning. John and Lyla will be witnesses. The judge will then seal the record. No one else will know we're married unless it becomes necessary." He kissed her. "Thank you."

She took his hand and led him back to bed. "We don't have rings."

"We won't wear them publicly until after the big wedding," he slid under the sheets beside her, "but, I saw the jeweler this afternoon. The rings we picked out will be ready by tomorrow. He is dropping them off before nine."

He lifted his arm and she snuggled back into his side with her head resting over his heart. His hand resumed tracing patterns onto her back. The feel of his fingers against her skin made her relax. She could feel that he was still tense, probably from feeling guilty. She placed a kiss onto his chest before resting her chin on it so she could see him. She ran her hand down the side of his face and traced his lips with her finger. "Thank you."

His brow creased. "For what?"

She smiled as she smoothed his brow. "For making my dream of marrying Oliver Queen come true."

Oliver sat up, his lips seeking hers as he flipped them so he was laying nestled between her legs. "Being with you is all I've ever wanted."

VVVVV

The new platinum band on her finger felt strange. Felicity still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of her engagement ring and now she had a wedding ring. It felt surprisingly heavy. She spun the rings on her finger as she waited for Oliver to return from showing Ned and the judge out. Today was her wedding day and she was now Felicity Queen. Felicity Smoak-Queen? Felicity Megan Queen? Mrs. Oliver Queen? Should she take Oliver's name? Should she hyphenate? She didn't really have an attachment to Smoak because it was her father's name, but she'd accomplished a lot in her life as Felicity Smoak. Two advanced degrees before her twentieth birthday wasn't anything to sneeze at. It wasn't like the name Queen wasn't fraught with its own baggage, but it was Oliver's name. Her  husband's name. "Oh." Her legs suddenly turned to jelly and she dropped onto the sofa beside the bouquet Oliver had picked for her from the garden that morning.

A warm pair of hands encircled her trembling ones. "Are you okay?" John was kneeling in front of her with a look of concern.

"I have a husband," she said, more than a little stunned.

"Oh, boy," Lyla said trying to hide a grin. "You better drink this." She handed Felicity a mimosa.

Felicity tilted the glass back and emptied the contents of the flute. "I think I need another." She gestured at the three remaining glasses on the tray in Lyla's hands. "Oliver won't drink his anyway."

"I won't drink what?" Oliver strode into the room with a radiant smile. He seemed lighter than he had in weeks. One look at him and she knew that she'd made the right decision to move up their ceremony. He needed the peace of mind that their small private wedding gave him.

Diggle rose to his feet, but Felicity still held onto one of his hands. "I think our girl has just realized she's actually married now."

Oliver moved to his bride's side and took her hand from Dig. "Hey, everything okay?" His fingers rubbed against her new ring.

She looked at him and giggled. "You're my husband." Felicity suddenly hiccupped and her hand flew to cover her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise and she laughed again. "I'm your wife."

"Felicity," his voice heavy with concern, "if you've changed your mind," he stood up and looked towards the door, "I'm sure I can get the judge and Ned to come back."

She pulled on his hand. "Don't you dare."

He pulled her to her feet. "I thought you changed your mind."

She shook her head. "Not a chance. Just getting used to the idea of being someone's wife."

"If it makes you feel better, you guys have been acting married for over two years now. This just made it official." Dig said as he poured half of the mimosa he was holding into Felicity's empty glass. He then handed his glass to Oliver and took one from Lyla. "I'd like to propose a toast." The four friends held their glasses up. "I'm going to save the embarrassing speech for the big wedding, but I'm glad I get to say this to you alone. I've been watching you two since your second meeting and I can honestly say that you are the two slowest white people I have ever known." Both Oliver and Felicity laughed. "If you hurt one another, you'll have to answer to me. I love you both. Be happy." He raised his glass. "Oliver and Felicity."

Everyone took a sip of their champagne. Felicity kissed John on the cheek and he pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you, John. You're the best friend a girl could ask for."

"You're making him blush." Oliver teased as John released Felicity and pulled him in for a hug. "But, she's not wrong." Oliver raised his glass. "To John, my brother, for putting up with us."

"Here, here." Felicity said with a smile.

Oliver pulled Felicity into his side and held his glass up. "To my beautiful wife for making me believe everything is possible."

She sipped her champagne and kissed him and tasted the sweet orange juice still on his lips. She pinched him.

"Ow," he groused as he rubbed his bicep. "What was that for?"

She gave him her best wide-eyed innocent stare. "I wanted to make sure I'm not dreaming."  

He laughed. "I think you're supposed to pinch yourself." She shrugged. He leaned in and kissed her. His eyes shone with love. "I'm happy, Mrs. Queen."

She reflected his love right back at him with her radiant smile. "Me too, Mr. Queen."

"What did we miss?" A squeaky voice asked from the back of the room.

Everyone turned towards the voice, but Oliver was the first to speak. "Sara. Nyssa. What are you doing here?"

"It appears the emergency was their wedding." Nyssa said coolly as she walked towards Felicity. "We were dealing with something quite important when you sent your emergency message."

Felicity swallowed heavily when she saw the roomful of disapproving stares. "I promise, I sent my message before we decided to do all this," she wiggled her left hand. "Our wedding isn't the emergency."

"I take it the charred trees we drove by on the way here have something to do with your emergency?" Sara asked as she pulled Felicity into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Sara. Felicity shouldn't have called you away from whatever you were doing. We've got this." Oliver put his champagne glass onto the table.

"God, your such a stubborn idiot." Sara smirked. "It's a good thing you let Felicity make the important decisions, otherwise you'd be in real trouble."

Oliver rolled his eyes at his ex. "While I appreciate that you both came a long way to help, it really isn't necessary. I will take care of this situation on my own."

"If this is the work of the man who attempted to kidnap your," Nyssa did her best impression of a smile, "wife the last time Sara was in town, I seriously doubt you can handle this on your own. You are foolish to refuse our help."

Sara placed her hand onto Oliver's arm. "Nyssa's right, Ollie. People are dying and it's past time we take this bastard out, once and for all."

Felicity wrapped her arms around his arm and rested her chin upon his shoulder. "Please, Oliver. Oscar is waging war against us, we need all the allies we can muster."

Oliver took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "All right, but just the two of you. I don't need the whole League of Assassins running around too."

"Excellent," Nyssa said as she moved towards the door. "Since it is your wedding day I imagine you've planned a feast to celebrate. Sara says it is traditional for cake to be served. I like cake." Sara followed after her.

Oliver, Felicity, Dig, and Lyla watched with their mouths slightly ajar.

"I guess we better get the woman some cake." Lyla said with a smile as she tugged on her husband until he fell into step behind her.

Felicity bit her bottom lip. "Are you mad?"

Oliver wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "You married me today in order to make me feel better and in control. If having Sara here makes you feel better and more in control, how can I be mad with you?"

"Thank you." She kissed him softly.

"Haven't you realized by now?" He kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll do absolutely anything for you, Mrs. Queen."

VVVVV

A gasp escaped Felicity's lips as her eyes flew open and she sat up. Moonlight flooded the room and pooled on their bed. She pulled the sheet up to cover herself because she was naked except for her rings. She drew her legs up and took a deep breath to help settle her mind. It had only been a dream and it was already dissolving in her mind. She clung to it because there was something important she needed to remember. She was being chased by Oscar through the Glades. She could see Oliver waiting for her, but as fast as she ran, she couldn't reach him. There was an explosion and Oliver disappeared into the smoke. She watched the Arrow zipline from a building, his arm extended to catch hold of her. His fingertips reached out for her but she slipped from his grip. She could hear Sara telling her to run faster, but she was tired and her legs burned. She wanted to stop running. She passed a building with a television in the window. Vic was giving a newscast and reporting on Oliver's death and how the SCPD was looking to arrest Felicity for her husband's murder. She could hear sirens in the distance and the steady footfall of her pursuer. Oscar was about to overtake her when she saw the orange glow of a cigarette in an alley before a hand reached from the shadows and pulled her through a door. Felicity was suddenly sitting at the island of Vic's kitchen. She was wearing the dress she wore to her mother's funeral. A plate of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit was placed in front of her. She turned to tell Vic, thank you, but it wasn't Vic who stood before her, it was the Question. "Your green friend asked me to look out for you."

_Your green friend._

Oliver shifted in the bed beside her. His warm hand landed on her bare back. He leaned up on his elbow and placed a kiss on her spine. "Bad dream?" He asked groggily.

_Your green friend._

_Frack_. She spun around so quickly, Oliver fell back onto his pillow. Even though it had been a dream, she knew she was right. She'd been putting it together since she first met the Question, but it took her resting mind to see all the pieces. She placed her hand on Oliver's stomach. "Vic Sage is the Question."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed.
> 
> Up Next: Oliver decides to make his stand. So does Felicity.


	11. August

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early morning vigilante gathering sets a plan in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long delay in the posting of this chapter. Real life had other plans for my writing time and I was unable to sit down and get through these last two chapters.
> 
> We are almost at the end of the road for this trilogy. The next chapter will be the last. I want to thank everyone who encouraged me to keep writing during my mini hiatus. It means a great deal to me that so many of you look forward to my updates. Like A Bird thank you for all your insight, encouragement and making me laugh.
> 
> The Arrow universe and characters do not belong to me.

Felicity stood next to Dig and watched the floor numbers tick by. When she woke up that morning she'd thought confronting Vic about being the Question was a great idea, but now as she watched his floor fast approaching she was thinking that maybe this wasn't one of her better ideas. "What if I'm wrong?"

Dig snorted but kept his eyes forward. "I should be recording this conversation for Oliver."

Ignoring his sarcasm, she continued, "If I am wrong and I confront him about the faceless vigilante am I confirming Oliver's identity and putting everyone in danger?"

Dig leaned over her and pulled the emergency stop. "Felicity, you don't need to speak with Vic. We can get off on the next floor and I can take you home."

Felicity stood with her mouth slightly agape. "Oh my god, you hit the emergency stop. You can't just do that. Can you? I mean this isn't an emergency. Is this a federal offense? Are elevators federally regulated." She leaned forward to inspect the certificate hanging on the wall, her nerves getting the better of her. "Nope, elevators are inspected by the state. Not that it matters to me if it is a state or a federal crime. Suffice it to say, that ship has long sailed and stopping an elevator is probably the least of my crimes."

Dig placed his hands on her shoulders. "Felicity. Take a deep breath. We aren't getting into trouble for stopping the elevator."

"Is everything okay in there?" A voice asked from the speaker in the number panel.

The unexpected voice had Felicity jumping backwards and she hit the rear wall of the elevator. She clutched her chest as her heart started to race. She pointed to the panel and glared at Dig. He shook his head and reached for the speaker button. "Hey man, we're totally fine. We just needed to have a private conversation. We only need a minute."

"Ma'am. Are you okay?" The voice addressed Felicity and Dig rolled his eyes.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward. She waved at the camera and smiled. "Thank you. I'm fine. My friend was just trying to give me a much needed pep talk. We're going to be on our way." She pushed the emergency stop button back in. The elevator lurched and resumed its ascent. "See, we're all set. Sorry to bother you." She shot Dig another look. "And I thought bringing you with me to confront my ex about his secret identity would be less stressful than bringing Oliver."

Everyone had been on edge since the murders of Dave, Beth and the paparazzi. Felicity never left the mansion without Dig or Rob. Oliver refused to be in the same vehicle with her and he always insisted on leaving the house before her. She was pretty annoyed with the extremes Oliver was going to in his mission to keep her out of the line of fire. Dig accompanying her to confront Vic had been a pretty big fight between the three partners. Felicity had wanted to go alone, Oliver had wanted to be the one to confront Vic and Dig had wanted to go as Felicity's bodyguard. Felicity preferred Dig's over protectiveness to Oliver's, so she had quickly agreed to Dig's plan so they could outvote Oliver. There had been some grumbling on Oliver's part about the team turning into a democracy, but he relented.

"Are you going to see Vic or are we going home?" Dig asked innocently.

She rocked back on her heels and resumed watching the floors tick by. "Well, we've come this far and committed a federal offense, so," she couldn't help but grin when she noticed Dig smiling from the corner of her eye.

When the elevator opened on Vic's floor, she took a deep breath and followed Dig out into the corridor. He squeezed her hand before dropping behind her to play the role of her imposing bodyguard. She took a moment in front of Vic's door before she knocked. It only took a few seconds before the door opened. Vic stood before her with his dark curls still damp from his shower. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt and his feet were bare. "Thanks for agreeing to see me this early."

He smiled warmly at her. "If Felicity Smoak calls you at five in the morning, it has to be important."

She grimaced. "Yeah, sorry about that."

He stepped back and gestured for her to enter. "I'd rather be woken by you than my alarm clock."

Felicity didn't need to look at Dig to tell that his expression had turned to a disapproving glare at Vic. She smiled at Vic as she stepped by him, "Even so, I know it is early, so thank you."

"Are you coming in Mr. Diggle?" Vic asked.

"No, sir. I'll wait here for Ms. Smoak." Dig said with his back to Vic and his eyes trained on the elevator.

As soon as Vic released the door to follow Felicity into the apartment, Dig's hand shot out and prevented the door from closing all the way. She tried to not roll her eyes at Dig's not so subtle message; he didn't trust Vic or the Question and he would rather not have to kick a door down to get to her. She took a deep breath and the warm, rich smell permeating the apartment made her sigh. "Is that coffee?" She asked innocently.

He laughed. "Yes, I just brewed a pot. It should be ready by now. I'll get us a cup. Make yourself comfortable."

Felicity stepped into the living room and her breath caught. Every wall was covered with photographs and newspaper clippings with different colored strings connecting the various items. Even the windows had photos taped to them. A large white board, covered in writing, stood in the corner. The room looked like it belonged to a homicide squad or, a serial killer or, a vigilante. Her eyes began to focus and take in what was taped to the walls. On one wall there were lots of pictures of Oliver, as himself and as the Arrow. As her eyes scanned the pictures, she realized that it wasn't just Oliver, there were pictures of Roy, Arsenal, Dig, Lyla, Thea, Laurel, Sara, the Canary, Captain Lance and herself. Another wall was covered in photos of Oscar, Jimmy Roman, Richie Thompson and her mom. With trembling knees she backed out of the room to the front door. She opened the door and put her hand out to Dig. He raised a questioning brow but took her hand and allowed her to lead him into the apartment.

Dig stood in the center of the living room and tightened his grip on Felicity. "Frack me."

Felicity nodded her head in agreement and was too stunned by their surroundings to notice that her friend had adopted her favorite swear word. It was clear that Vic knew who they were and had known for almost a year. She knew he'd always suspected that Oliver and the Arrow were one in the same, but there was a huge difference between suspecting and knowing.

"I'm a really good reporter." Vic said from behind them. Felicity let out a small eep at his sudden appearance. He held out a mug to Felicity and to Dig. "I don't like mysteries any more than you do and Oliver Queen was too tempting a mystery." He gestured to the sofa as he walked to the wall with Oliver's photos. Dig shook his head, but Vic waited for Felicity to sit before he continued. "It probably started with my ego. I couldn't understand how you could be in love with him. I had fallen in love with you and I thought I knew you, but the you I knew wouldn't fall in love with a vapid, self-absorbed, playboy."

"It looks to me like you have an unhealthy obsession with Felicity." Dig said coolly.

Vic gave Felicity a sad smile. "That might be true, but it doesn't mean I'm not right. Oliver Queen is the Arrow and almost every person in his life is in some way or other connected to his night time exploits, including the two of you. Especially, the two of you." Vic moved to the wall covered in photos of Team Arrow and pointed to a picture of Roy and then Arsenal. "His sister's boyfriend and sidekick. Scrappy street fighter with a record longer than he is tall. And if I may say so, not so bright to wear that red hoodie all the time. Between his height and penchant for red hoods, he is the easiest to identify of your group and the easiest to link to Oliver and the Arrow's identity."

"I'm burning that sweatshirt." Felicity muttered under her breath loud enough for Dig to hear, but not Vic. Dig shot her a look and she pressed her lips together.

"This looks like the wild speculation of a spurned lover. No one will believe you." Dig said with a lot more conviction than she knew he felt.

Vic raised his hands up in supplication. "I'm not looking to out your identities. I'm not looking to break a story."

Dig put his coffee mug on the table and folded his arms across his chest. "Then what are you looking for Mr. Sage?"

Vic moved to the white board. "Oliver Queen returns to Starling City five years after he was declared dead. Five years alone on a deserted island. That does something to a man, both physically and psychologically." Vic pointed back to Team Arrow's wall. "I've seen your service record. You're a serious man with a sense of duty and honor. Why would you attach yourself to a spoiled billionaire, unless that's not who Oliver Queen is?" He shrugged his shoulders, "I've been around enough soldiers and veterans to recognize the signs of PTSD. I imagine that's what drew you to him, Mr. Diggle. You recognized a fellow soldier.  A fellow soldier struggling to hold on to his humanity. How long did it take for you to realize you were the bodyguard of a serial killer?"

Felicity's fear for Oliver and her need to protect him propelled her to her feet. "What do you want?" Her voice had gone cold, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to let anyone take Oliver from her.

Vic shook his head and points to a timeline on the white board. "Oliver returns from the dead and the man in the green hood shows up a few days later and begins to kill one percenters throughout the city. All of them dirty. All of them corrupt. All of them exploiting the powerless. It's like he has a list. It's like he knows something is coming and the rest of the city is in the dark." Vic moves across the room and points to a photo of Moira. "At her trial she said that Robert Queen was involved in the Undertaking from the beginning and that she only became involved after his death. What did Robert tell his son on their trip to China? Did a concerned father share his burdens in the hope of straightening out a son bent on self destruction? I think Robert told Oliver about a conspiracy and when Oliver was rescued he tried to absolve his dead father of his sins, but he wasn't the same soft boy that left Starling. The man who returned was a killer and he cleared a bloody path through the city. Something changed after the Undertaking." Vic moves back to the timeline. "The Hood and Oliver Queen disappear at the same time. Were they injured in the Undertaking? Did they run because people still died? Because Tommy Merlyn died? Because Moira was complicit and was going to go to jail? When they both finally returned the Hood stopped killing and the Arrow was born. Why was that?" He looks directly at Felicity. "I think it was because of you. I think he was falling in love with you and he didn't want you to see a murderer when you looked at him." Vic moved over to a wall that was covered with the faces of the criminals the Arrow and his team had stopped. "But then, the Arrow did kill for you. Why was Count Vertigo after Oliver Queen's EA? Why would the Arrow kill to save Oliver Queen's EA? The Count didn't kidnap a CEO's secretary. He kidnapped the Arrow's computer expert. The Arrow didn't save a spoiled CEO's secretary, but Oliver Queen did save his partner and the woman he loved."

Felicity scoffed. Not at Vic presuming that Oliver had consciously realized that he was in love with Felicity the night he killed the Count, but at how easy it was to put all the pieces together for anyone patient enough to try. It was amazing it had taken this long for an outsider to realize who Oliver Queen is. "You're the Question."

A huge smile broke across Vic's face. "We'll get to that." He moved over to the windows covered in pictures of Oscar and his crew. "At first, I thought that your abduction was ordered by the Bratva because they figured out the identity of the Arrow. He'd disrupted a lot of the organized crime in the city - the Bertinellis, the Triad, but not the Bratva. Was it preemptive? Did they take you in order to deter him? I thought so, but the more I dug, the less sure I became. Your mother had clear ties to the Bratva, but she also had a lot of debt. I think your abduction really was about the ransom money. I made a mistake to let that line of inquiry go. I thought I'd hit a dead end, but then buildings started burning and people started dying and I needed to figure out who, how and why."

"So, you came to me with what you had on the fires?" Felicity had wandered to the windows to study his evidence.

"Yes. I'm good at digging, at asking questions and at putting together the pieces to make a complete story, but I'm not a fighter. I tried to use fear and surprise to get answers, but it wasn't enough."

"A faceless man has a way of unsettling a person." Dig said with understanding.

"Yes." Vic nodded. "I became friendly with Doctor Hamilton and he told me about a polymer he invented for his work with artificial limbs. It is a spray that hardens into a flexible, breathable artificial skin and it  gave me the perfect disguise." Vic reached into his pocket and removed a cylinder that he held out to Felicity. Before she could take it, Dig wrapped his large hand around the cylinder and placed it in his inside jacket pocket. "Men who would normally shoot first were stunned by my appearance and would become suddenly talkative, but it only got me so far. I knew I needed help. I needed a team that consisted of brains and brawn. I didn't have a team, but I had access to one that was also interested in the truth and saving lives."

Felicity nodded as she listened to Vic and continued to read what he'd taped to his windows. "We took out the city officials and construction firms. They're being prosecuted."

"Felicity." Dig said in warning.

She turned to face Dig. "I think it's time everyone laid all their cards on the table." The two friends locked eyes as they had a silent conversation about secret identities and protecting their friends. With an audible sigh Felicity turned her attention back to Vic.

"Why were you helping the Bratva?" Vic asked in the tone he used when confronting politicians in interviews. It was firm and certain.

"We are not helping the Bratva." Felicity said as she looked Vic in the eyes.

"Oh, you've disrupted shipments of drugs, weapons and girls, but there is plenty you've turned a blind eye to and some you actively assisted with." Felicity was about to protest when he held up his hand to stop her. "There were several large shipments of counterfeit money and hijacked high tech that were not only not stopped by the Arrow, but on those nights the SCPD was sent on busts far away from the docks and without any help from the Arrow. All of the calls placed to 911 were anonymous and from burner phones. My first thought was that the Bratva was blackmailing Oliver. They threatened to out him or to kill you or both, but that doesn't fit with all of the other pieces. The Arrow is stopping the most dangerous, depraved and profitable of the Bratva shipments. If the Bratva knows who the Arrow is, why did they take a hit out on the Arrow and Oliver Queen? I knew I was missing something. Oliver is by far the easier target. The RPG attack proved that. So, why bother placing a separate hit out on the Arrow? The bounty on the Arrow is three times that on Oliver. If Oscar Orlov knows that Oliver Queen is the Arrow, why not just take out Oliver? It's clear, Oscar doesn't know who the Arrow is. Does Oscar think Oliver is helping him move his shipments? Why would Oliver willingly help an organized crime boss? Which brings us back to you. I think Oscar has something on you? Oliver was protecting you by letting Oscar believe he was under his power, but something happened. What did Oliver refuse to do that has Oscar trying to kidnap you off the street and blow you both up in your car?"

Felicity was only partially listening. Her attention was focused on a series of photos. She didn't recognize the location or the man with Oscar. She tapped her finger against one of the pictures. "Oscar's in the wind. How recent is this picture? Do you know where it was taken?"

"Felicity." Dig cautioned.

She spun around and faced the man who would and had done anything to protect Oliver. "John, we have no idea where he is. I can't find him and people are dying because of me and my mom. We need to end this before anyone else gets caught in the crossfire." Dig had put his head back and stared at the ceiling. Felicity crossed the room and grabbed his arms. "You and I both know where this is going to go if we don't find Oscar first. Oliver will sacrifice himself to save me." Dig dropped his head and looked at her. "Please. I won't be able to survive that."

Dig pulled the cell from his pocket and started to walk towards the kitchen. "I'll call him."

 

vvvvv

Twenty minutes later, Oliver, Sara, Nyssa and Lyla are standing in Vic's living room. Oliver's jaw is clenched and ticking away. His fingers are rolling together as he studies the wall dedicated to him. Felicity is regretting not following Dig's advice to pull down Vic's evidence against Oliver. She'd insisted on  leaving it up so Oliver could see that there was no point in trying to put the genie back in the bottle. Vic knew who they were, just as they knew who he was. The overwhelming evidence against the Team was clearly distressing Oliver. He never worried about his own safety, but he took pride in protecting those he cared about. Vic's mountain of evidence was serving as a reminder that Oliver was failing in keeping his team safe. She did her best to ignore Oliver's agitation and focused her attention on trying to find Oscar or the man in the photos with him. Nyssa and Sara were studying the information Vic had gathered on the women Oscar had been trafficking. They were speaking softly to one another in Arabic and Sara kept shaking her head. Lyla was seated next to Felicity as she rerouted an A.R.G.U.S. satellite that Felicity had hacked in order to get eyes on the location in the photograph. According to Vic, he'd followed a courier to Coast City and that was where he'd found Oscar and his mysterious associate.

"I really wish your husband would launch you your own satellite." Lyla said in a whisper. "One of these days Amanda is going to figure it out and we're all going to find explosives embedded in our brains."

Felicity tilted her head as she imagined how much easier life would be with her own satellite. "Hmm, the threat of a bomb embedded in my brain. Maybe that's the approach I should've been taking with Oliver instead of batting my eyes and you know," she widened her eyes, "making adult time."

Lyla laughed out loud and covered her mouth when every pair of eyes in the room turned towards them. Felicity and Lyla dropped their heads back to their computers and waited for everyone to return to what they'd been doing. "Better yet, aren't you the head of Applied Sciences now?" Lyla asked through closed teeth. "Buy your own damn satellite."

Before Felicity could respond, Nyssa spoke. "We know this man." Her finger was pressed against the face of the man with Oscar. "He is a ghost and an enemy of my father's."

Oliver strode across the room and asked in his Arrow voice, "Who is he?"

"We've been chasing him for almost a year." Sara said to Felicity. "At first we thought we were just hunting a trafficker, but we eventually realized we'd stumbled onto someone far more dangerous."

"Who?" Oliver demanded.

"He was a member of the League a long time ago, before my father ascended to Ra's."

"Was a member?" Diggle asked. "I thought the only way out of the League was through death."

"Damien Darkh believed he would be made Ra's, but when my father was selected he fled before he could be eliminated as a rival. He stole something from the League. My father has hunted him ever since."

"Ra's al Ghul has not been able to capture Darkh?" Oliver asked in disbelief.

"Darkh is not to be underestimated. When he left the League he started his own organization. Where the League believes in bringing order to where there is none, Darkh's H.I.V.E. only believes in anarchy and chaos."

"H.I.V.E.?" Felicity and Dig asked at the same time. Oliver looked between his two partners and silently conveyed that they would be having a conversation about whatever secret they'd been keeping from him.

Nyssa folded her arms across her chest. "They're dangerous. The human trafficking is just how they fund their mission. I imagine that Darkh is using Oscar as a front to hide his own activities."

"Do you think Anatoly knows about this? About H.I.V.E.?" Felicity asked Oliver, praying that her husband's Bratva friend wasn't involved with the organization responsible for the murder of the brother of his best friend.

Oliver sighed and pulled one of the pictures of Darkh off the window. "I don't recognize him, but that doesn't mean Anatoly doesn't know him." He shook his head, "I just don't know."

Vic cleared his throat. "Ra's al Ghul is real?" He looked between Nyssa, Oliver and Felicity. "I heard of him when I was in Afghanistan, but I thought he was a boogey man. A scary story the soldiers told each other to distract from the danger of their very real enemies."

"I assure you, my father is no boogey man. He is very real and more dangerous than any man your soldiers ever faced." Nyssa sounded proud as she spoke.

Felicity stood up and approached Vic as she realized how strange all of this must be for him. It seemed like forever ago when Felicity had never heard of vigilantes, Mirakuru super soldiers, A.R.G.U.S., the League of Assassins or H.I.V.E.. "Vic, thank you for sharing this with all of us, we wouldn't know our next step without it, but I think it's best you stay out of this now. God help me, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but this is kind of our normal everyday reality. You need to forget all of this and let us take care of it. Taking that job in Syria is safer than getting any more involved in this. Not that you should go to Syria, it's dangerous. Not that I'm telling you what to do, except that I am. You need to stay out of this, oh, and don't got to Syria."

Oliver put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Felicity is right. Too many people have died already. If Oscar or this Darkh guy find out that you know anything about them, it would be a death sentence."

Vic smirked a little. "I'm not just a pretty face they put on television. I've been to some of the scariest places on the planet and I've been in some very dangerous situations and I've always found my way out safely. Organized crime is run by bullies. I've never been afraid of bullies."

"Clearly, you are a first rate investigator and I don't doubt that you have an ability to operate under extreme stress, but you've gone as far as you can on this one." Oliver said. "The Bratva and H.I.V.E. might be bullies, but they are lethal bullies. We'll take it from here."

 

VVVVV

Anyone who said that relationships got easier after marriage were never married to Oliver Queen. Less than two weeks into her secret marriage, her husband had taken off with John in pursuit of Vic's most recent lead on Damien Darkh and H.I.V.E. while Nyssa and Sara had set their sights on Oscar Orlov. They thought that by swapping targets they'd have more luck with fresh eyes. With Roy still protecting Thea and Rosie in New York, Felicity had gone from having a lair full of vigilantes to none. As much as she enjoyed having time off, she was bored out of her mind. There was no point to having down time, if she couldn't spend it with Oliver. She thought she'd get to catch up on three years of sleep while her team was out of town, but all she did was lay awake and worry about them. There was no comm in her ear with the reassuring sounds of Oliver, Dig, Roy and Sara breathing. She had spent the last five nights pacing the halls of the mansion willing the sun to rise so she could head into work, which was why she was walking into her office fifteen minutes before seven with Rob in tow.

"Good morning, Peggy." Felicity said cheerfully as she approached her assistant's desk. "What's on tap for today?"

Peggy quickly rose from her desk and gave a nervous glance to Rob, before she moved to stand close to Felicity and whispered, "There's a woman in your office. She refused to give me her name, but she flashed her badge. Do you want me to call security, or, your lawyer, or, Mr. Queen?"

Felicity sighed. The last thing she needed was for the FBI to be snooping around again. "I'll speak with Agent Abbott."

Peggy took a step back and resumed her normal, calm exterior. "Would you like me to bring you coffee?"

Felicity smiled. "Yes, please. I think with Oliver out of town, caffeine will be my primary food group today." It was Peggy's turn to sigh. "If you promise not to tell Oliver I exceeded two cups of coffee today, I promise not to tell him you were the one who gave them to me." Felicity quickly turned to look at Rob who stood stoically in the doorway, "The bodyguard relationship is sacred. You know nothing about my coffee consumption."

Rob blinked before he brought his fingers to his lips, twisted them like he was turning a lock and threw an imaginary key over his shoulder. His face remained emotionless and when his arm returned to his side, there was no inkling that Felicity's humorless shadow had made a joke. Peggy laughed in surprise. "He's spending way too much time with you."

Even with Amy Abott waiting for her, Felicity couldn't help but feel a little lighter. "Don't listen to her, Rob. You're a good man who is in no way being corrupted by my strange ways."

Felicity took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and strode into her office to face Amy. There really should be a rule about having to see one of Oliver's exes, especially one that had tried to arrest, her before nine. She nearly tripped over her own feet when she realized she'd assumed that Amy was the only woman with a badge who might pay her a surprise visit. "Oh, for frack's sake. Let me guess. My freedom really wasn't free."

Amanda Waller turned from the windows and gave Felicity a tight smile. "Ms. Smoak," she tilted her head, "or, should I say, Mrs. Queen? Congratulations on your recent wedding."

Felicity had no way of knowing how Amanda found out about her sealed marriage, but she wasn't going to expend any energy on trying to figure it out. She dropped her purse on the sofa and fixed Amanda with a hard stare. "What do you want?"

"I see Oliver's manners are rubbing off on you." Amanda sat down on the sofa and gestured for Felicity to do the same.

Felicity sat down and did her best to dig deep to find the manners Rosie had raised her to show to company. "You're right, I'm being rude. Thank you for helping me with the FBI. Oliver and I do appreciate it, even if we don't really believe that there aren't any strings attached." Well, Felicity had at least tried to be polite, but Amanda made it difficult.

"Felicity," Amanda seemed to grimace as Felicity's name passed her lips, "you might find this hard to believe, but you are of more use to me out of prison. Your skills would be an asset to A.R.G.U.S., but you are much more valuable working with your team. Even when he works independent of A.R.G.U.S., Oliver Queen remains one of my most important assets. He would be of no use to me if you went to prison and he got himself killed or convicted in an attempt to free you."

"Oliver's right, you do say the nicest things. I feel downright squishy inside." Felicity said sarcastically. "Really, Amanda, I have a lot to do and I don't have time for whatever games you want to play. What do you want?"

"You've managed to anger some very powerful individuals. You and your friends are surrounded by dangerous people and you seem to be running headlong into a confrontation that will not end well for any of you."

"I'm touched by your concern, but we have everything under control." Felicity said with more conviction than she felt.

"The two guards who died in Oliver and your place would disagree, if they could." Amanda said cuttingly.

"Everything okay in here?"

Felicity turned at the familiar voice and couldn't help but smile. "Roy, I didn't realize you were home."

Roy stepped between Felicity and Amanda and placed two mugs of coffee onto the table. "Peggy said you hadn't had your coffee yet today, so I thought I'd rescue your first guest from having to deal with a caffeine free you, but now that I see who it is, she can just deal."

Amanda tilted her head as she took in Roy. "Mr. Harper, it is good to finally meet you in person. Your skills are markedly improved this past year. No lasting side effects from the Mirakuru?"

Roy smirked. "If I did have any, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you." He dropped onto the sofa next to Felicity and casually draped his arm across its back. Felicity knew he was doing his best to seem disinterested instead of reveal how angry he truly was."

Felicity squeezed Roy's knee in appreciation before she stood. "Amanda was just leaving."

Amanda gracefully rose to her feet. "Two pieces of advice. Mr. Harper should lose the red hoodie. You might as well embroider Arsenal across the back of it."

Felicity didn't disagree with Waller, but she would never take Waller's part over a member of her team. "We'll take that under advisement." She placed a protective hand on Roy's shoulder. "As a huge fan of unsolicited advice, I can't wait to hear your second piece."

"You're tangling with the Bratva, H.I.V.E. and the League of Assassins. They have you surrounded on all sides. Damien Darkh and Ra's al Ghul are not to be trifled with. I know you think your relationship with Nyssa Roshenko will protect you, but I promise you, her father will disinherit her the moment a better option for his heir appears and her life will be forfeit. You'd do well to remember who your friends are when you find yourself under fire." Amanda pulled a small flat box, wrapped in expensive looking white and gold paper, from inside her purse. "Congratulations. I hope you and Oliver are able to live a long life together."

"Thank you, for the gift." Felicity said to Amanda's back as her heels echoed off the marble floor.

"Huh," Roy sounded disappointed, "I really thought she'd disappear in a cloud of smoke."

Felicity smiled and nodded towards the present. "Do you think it's ticking?"

"Only one way to find out." Roy leaned across the table and picked up the package. He held it up to his ear and shook it. "I don't think it's a bomb."

Felicity sat back down and pulled the package from his hand and placed it on the table. "If it were, we'd be dead after you shook it like that." She picked up her mug and inhaled deeply. She could feel herself relax as the heavenly scent of coffee wafted around her. "Not that I'm not extremely happy to see you, but I thought you were in New York. Did you drop Thea and Rosie off at home?"

"Thea and Rosie are with Walter in London." Roy said before taking a sip of his own coffee.

"What? You let them out of your sight?" Felicity asked in disbelief.

Roy put up his hands defensively. "Not my call. Oliver told me to come back once he arranged for Thea and Rosie to go visit Walter."

Felicity pursed her lips, closed her eyes and counted to ten in order to prevent herself from giving Roy an earful about Oliver changing the plan without telling her. If he changed this, what else was he keeping from her? "I guess it slipped his mind to tell me."

Roy stood up. "I've got class, but your schedule has you here all day with Rob. I'll be staying at the mansion with you until Oliver gets back. I'll see you tonight, but call me if you need me."

Felicity sighed and took a large sip of her coffee. She just might ask Peggy to bring her a carafe for her desk. If Amanda Waller was the sign of how the rest of her day was going to go, Felicity was going to need all the caffeine she could get. The wrapped present caught her eye and she decided to see what the Dragon Lady of A.R.G.U.S. had gifted them with. She tore through the paper and was slightly stunned by what she saw when she opened the box. She placed the box on the table and doubled over in laughter as four pairs of sterling silver corn on the cob holders glinted in the early morning sun.

 

VVVVV

Hearing the door open, Felicity spoke without looking up from her tablet. "Peggy, did we get the results for the audit of Applied Science's vendor management controls? I thought we did, but I don't see them here and Mr. Palmer wants to see the results before he makes a final decision." When Peggy didn't respond she looked up, her chair pushing back from the table and her hand unlocking her phone. "Oscar."

"Hello, Felicity. You're looking as lovely as ever." Oscar smiled. "I've been trying to get in touch with you, but you've declined all of my invitations." He stepped towards her. "Please, put down the phone."

She placed her phone next to her tablet. "Even in Vegas it's bad manners to pull a woman off of the street and into the back of the van." Felicity straightened her shoulders and began to evaluate her options. Oscar had two men with him, both clearly carrying guns. She didn't see the tell tale bulge in Oscar's jacket, but she assumed he was armed. She hadn't heard gunshots, but Rob had been posted outside the conference room door. If he hadn't engaged these men, he was either dead or incapacitated. Felicity's team of heroes were far away and she couldn't expect any of them to rescue her. No, Felicity was going to need to keep her wits and use the only weapon she had, her mind.

Oscar laughed and pointed a finger at her. "I always liked you. I still don't understand how a girl as smart as you came from your mother. Either they switched you in the hospital or your father was a real genius with terrible taste in women."

Felicity laughed bitterly. "Trust me I checked. Donna Smoak was my mom and as for my dad, your guess is as good as mine."

"I am not happy that things have come to this," Oscar shook his head sadly. "I always liked you and I don't like involving women in these matters, but your mother stole from me. What was I supposed to do?" Oscar started moving towards her and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "You saw what  I was willing to do to get the million dollars you're mother took from, what makes you think I won't snap your neck where you stand for taking everything?" Oscar's anger suddenly exploded and his fist crashed against the table. "Where is my money?"

Felicity didn't even flinch. After being Oliver's partner for three years, Oscar was going to need to do a lot more than shout at her if he wanted to shake her. Felicity had to decide quickly if she needed to play the part of the weepy, timid, non-threatening woman or be herself. "I returned all of the drugs my mom stole. Whatever I found, I brought back to you."

"Don't play games with me." Oscar resumed stalking towards her. It was all Felicity could do from taking a step away from him. "Someone cleaned out all of my bank accounts and liquefied my holdings."

"I'd like to say I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm not. "She raised her hand when Oscar started to speak."But that  doesn't mean I stole your money. It's not uncommon for criminals to be targeted by other criminals. I imagine someone saw their opportunity to get a payday."

He nodded his head. "I would agree with you, if it was just one bank account, but all of them were hit. I had to ask myself who would target me? The answer is simple. Either someone from inside my organization is looking to replace me as Captain or another Captain is looking to take my territory. There is only one Captain I know who not only has an incentive to eliminate me, but has a certified computer genius warming his bed every night."

Felicity smiled sympathetically. "As flattering as that is, you must realize that I know nothing of Oliver's Bratva business." She opened her arms wide. "I have my arms full running his legitimate business." She smiled sweetly. "I could offer you my services and see if I can locate your money, or at the very least, give you the identity of the person who wiped your accounts." Felicity sensed Oscar's hesitation, but she could see a little bit of hope in his eyes. His desperation to get his money back and greed would make him easier for Felicity to manipulate. Anatoly must be looking for him. Showing up at QC during office hours was a big tip of his hand. Felicity could work with that. She returned to her chair at the head of the table and woke her tablet. "If you give me the account that you noticed first, it will give me a place to start - kind of like Dorothy and the yellow brick road in Munchkinland."

Oscar's eyes went wide for a moment, before he asked. "You can do this? You can get my money back?"

"Most likely, your money isn't gone, it has just been shifted. If I can identify the hacker's signature, I can find the money and shift it back."

"Okay, you will come with me." Oscar gestured for her to get up.

"No." Felicity wasn't leaving the building with Oscar, even if it meant dying in her conference room. If she left with him, she'd be sentencing herself to death and Oliver to a lifetime of  looking to find her remains."

"No?" Oscar's tone had reverted back to anger.

"If you expect me to hack into banks with superior encryption, I will need access to QC's computing power. I can't very well break into anything from my tablet." Felicity shook her head as if to say, silly mobsters. "The more server power I have access to, the faster this will go and the sooner you will get your money and the sooner you will leave my friends and family alone."

Before Oscar could respond, Felicity's cell rang. "Who is it?"

She glanced down to see who was calling and felt herelf comforted by the caller ID. "It's Oliver. I need to answer it."

"No, you don't." Oscar said reaching for her phone.

Felicity placed her hand protectively over her cell. "If I don't answer it, he'll know something is wrong. We have a meeting scheduled for right now so I can debrief him on my prior meeting."

"Okay, place him on speaker, but if you so much as say one thing about me or your situation, my men will put a bullet in you."Oscar threatened.

Felicity nodded before she accepted the call. She really wished they had come up with codewords like Lyla and Diggle. If Lyla asked about the Starling City Rockets, everything was fine. If she asked about the Gotham Rogues, she was in trouble and in need of immediate help. She had no idea how she was going to alert Oliver to her situation. "You're right on time. I should send you out of town more often."

"Maybe I just miss you." Oliver's voice sounded gruff, like he'd just woken up.

"The meeting with Palmer went really well today. He wants to take a look at one more report, but I think there is a better than likely chance that this time next year, QC will be using co-generation to power the entire Glades."

"Felicity, that's great. I'm proud of you and when all of this is over, I'm taking you out to celebrate."

"Let's not count our chickens yet, there is still a lot of work to do." Oscar motioned with his finger for her to wrap it up. "Ugh, Peggy just poked her head in. Looks like I'm double booked today. My calendar is crazy and I think I'll be holed up at the office all day."

"I'll let you go. Call me later. I love you."

"I love you too, Ollie." Felicity ended the call before he could respond.

 

vvvvv

Less than two minutes after she hung up the phone with Oliver the fire alarm went off and a voice came over the intercom to evacuate the building due to a gas leak on the street. "What did you do?" Oscar asked angrily.

She pointed to the ceiling. "I didn't do this." An alert went off on her tablet and she stood up. "We need to get out of here."

"I'm not falling for your games." He pulled a gun and pointed it at her. "Transfer the money back into my account or your fiancé will have to identify your corpse."

Felicity slid her tablet over to him. "Look at the news alert. There is a gas leak on Market Street. This whole block is being evacuated."

One of Oscar's goons stepped forward holding his phone out. "She's right boss. They're evacuating this whole area."

Oscar grabbed Felicity by the arm and pushed her tablet against her chest. "Looks like you'll be coming with us. Try anything," she felt his gun press against her spine, "and it will be the last thing you do."

Oscar dragged Felicity out of the conference room and she was forced to step over Rob's body. She saw the soft rise and fall of his chest and said a silent prayer that he could wait for medical treatment. Oscar followed his men into the stairwell and their group was absorbed into the crowd of the QC employees also leaving the building. Their progression down twenty eight flights was slow and she was able to get Oscar to stop on a landing so she could remove her heels. Felicity nodded to the employees that filed past her as she leaned against the wall. Between her tablet, phone and shoes her hands were full as she stepped onto the QC plaza. The street was full of emergency vehicles and first responders were everywhere.

Oscar had just tugged onto her arm to bring her into motion when a familiar figure blocked her path. "Ms. Smoak, I'm glad I found you. Mr. Queen's assistant said that you're in charge today."

"Det - Captain Lance." Felicity had never been happier to see a police officer in her life as Oscar let go of her arm and the goons began to melt into the crowds. "What's going on here?"

"I'll escort you to our command center. Your security team is already there coordinating the evacuation." Lance said as he placed his hand on her back and began to steer her through the crowds and away from Oscar.

"Ms. Smoak, Ms. Smoak." Oscar jogged up to her and squeezed her bicep as he whispered in her ear. "You have twenty four hours to return all of my money or I will kill everyone you love, not just Queen."

Felicity watched as Oscar jumped into the back of dark sedan and sped away from QC. Lance placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and began steering her through the crowd.

Lance opened a police command vehicle and ushered her inside. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but my bodyguard, Rob, was unconscious the last time I saw him outside the executive conference room."

Lance put his radio to his mouth and instructed emergency services to retrieve Rob. He turned his attention back to the blond putting her shoes back on. "I got a call from your guy saying that you were in trouble."

"So you faked a gas line break?" Felicity asked in disbelief.

He shook his head, "No, I think your new protégé is responsible for that."

The swell of pride in Roy's expanding abilities was quickly replaced with trepidation. "In that case, I better double check that it is a malfunctioning sensor and not an actual gas leak." Felicity said as she sat down in front of a bank of computers as Lance's phone buzzed.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to want to take this call first." Lance slid the phone in front of her.

"You figured out my message." Felicity said with relief. "I was really worried, you wouldn't."

He huffed a laugh. "Trust me, you calling me Ollie was an effective S.O.S."

There was a moment of silence and she knew he was struggling to compose himself."Oliver, I'm fine." She said, trying her best to sound calm and collected.

"Felicity, are you safe?" Oliver's voice broke a little.

She could hear the sound of a motorcycle engine revving and knew that he was driving at reckless speeds. "Slow down. I'm fine. I'm with Captain Lance. Where's Dig?"

"I'm on my way home. John is sticking with Darkh."

Felicity lowered her voice. "There's no reason for you to come home. I'm fine. Oscar took off. From what Sara and Nyssa have told us about Darkh, John should have back up."

"Felicity, I'm coming home. Roy is on his way to meet up with Sara, Nyssa and Dig."

Felicity knew from his tone that his mind had been made up. "Okay, I'll see you at home."

"You're sticking with Lance until I pick you up."

"Oliver, the Captain has more important things to do than babysit me, besides, I have things to do - you know, non-Kosher things." Sticking next to a police captain was going to make illegal money transfers that much more challenging.

"I love you," he said gruffly. "Give the phone back to Lance."

"I love you too." She returned Lance his phone and quickly networked in with her Arrow system to shut down the faked gas leak.

"Well, whatever you did, the crisis is over. Everyone is being allowed back into their buildings." Lance said sitting down next to her.

Felicity stood up. "I guess I'll go back to work. Thank you for all your help, Captain."

Lance took hold of her hands. "Not so fast. Your fiancé has instructed me to keep you in my sights at all times and that you aren't to be trusted." He held up a pair of handcuffs. "You're not going to make me handcuff you, are you?"

Felicity rolled her eyes, "Fine, but I have a lot of work to do."

The older man sighed. "Yeah, I have a pretty good feeling that I don't want to know what kind of work you're getting up to."

She smiled sweetly at him. "It's just a little online banking. Nothing to worry about."

vvvvv

Lance placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of Felicity as she worked frantically from her tablet as she sat at his desk. She was racing the clock. She needed to have her plan in motion before Oliver returned to Starling. Her brow furrowed as she methodically returned Oscar's money to his accounts while laying a trail that would be easy to follow.

The Captain's hand landed gently on her shoulder and he gave it a squeeze. "I think it's time for you to take a break. You haven't had anything to eat."

She shot him a small smile, "I'm good," and returned to her coding.

Lance pulled her chair out from his desk and spun it to face him. "You seem to forget I have two daughters your age. You're going to stand up from this chair, eat that sandwich and drink your coffee before you're allowed to touch this again." He took her tablet and locked it in a cabinet.

"Hey." Felicity said angrily. "I really need to finish that."

"Uh uh. Eat now. Computer later." Lance passed her a sandwich.

"And here I've been wishing I had a dad all these years." She took a bite of the chicken salad sandwich, not realizing how hungry she was until she started chewing.

"Being a dad is more than baseball games and pony rides. Sometimes you need to tell your child no, for their own good."

Felicity lets out a small laugh. "I can't imagine Laurel or Sara really responded well to being told, no."

Lance drops into the chair alongside his desk. "Laurel and Sara were such different kids. Both were great students, they get their brains from their mom, but boy oh boy once those hormones kicked in I could barely keep up with them."

She gave him a small smile. "I can only imagine."

"And that Queen kid, he didn't help." He winked at her.

Felicity gave him a sympathetic smile. "I can't imagine he did."

"As a parent, all you want is to make your child happy and to keep your child safe from all the cruel things you know the world has in store for them, but my girls didn't make it easy. Laurel has always been so hard on herself. She hurts herself because she's hurting. Of all the things she could get from me, the one thing she gets is the self-destruction." Lance swallows heavily. "And my Sara, there was such an innocence about her before she ran off with Oliver. She always leapt before she looked. She had this incredible faith that everything would always work out. Her life is so dangerous now and I'm afraid that she will take one too many leaps and there will be nothing there to catch her."

Felicity wiped the tears that had trickled down her face. She couldn't imagine her mom ever worrying about her happiness and safety. She reached out and took Lance's hand. "Laurel is a pretty amazing person. She has a sense of justice and a belief in what is right. She gets that from you. She isn't her alcoholism, anymore than you are." Lance squeezed her hand. "Sara is the most amazing person I know. She has this boundless capacity to love and to make everyone feel at ease. She's been through so much, but she came home for her family. She loves you. Nothing is more important to her than you and Laurel and Nyssa."

She suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotions and she rose from her chair to inspect the city map hanging behind his desk. She squeezed the bridge of her nose and willed the tears that were threatening to fall back behind her lids.

"You know, I'm a pretty good listener." Lance said as he leaned forward on his elbows. "Tell me what's really been going on. I know you're in trouble. That all of you are in some sort of trouble."

Felicity nods her head. She picks up the picture of Laurel and Sara that the Captain keeps on his desk. "Until Oliver, no one ever put a picture of me on their desk. Not that my mom had a desk, she was a cocktail waitress, so she could've put my picture up in her locker, but I'm pretty sure she didn't. She preferred people not knowing she had a daughter." She replaced the picture on his desk and looked at the Captain. "Maybe if I'd been prettier or less awkward she would've been proud of me, but I was a frizzy-haired buck-toothed girl in glasses who was smarter than almost everyone. I think she was embarrassed by me."

He shook his head. "I can't believe that is true."

Tears started to fall from her eyes. "You were right, when you came to see me at the hospital, you were right about her. She kidnapped me to get her hands on Oliver's money. She believed the tabloid stories about the playboy CEO and his bimbo EA and she thought it would be an easy pay day."

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Lance stood up and took her shoulders in his hands. "Did you think any of your friends would think less of you?"

Felicity took a shuddering breath. There was a part of her that always feared that when her friends met her mom, they would drop her. "My mom did some terrible things in her life and she made some pretty bad choices, especially when it came to men. Right before she died, my mom and her boyfriend stole over a million dollars worth of drugs from Oscar Orlov. He is a Bratva Captain in Las Vegas. Last summer, he threatened me. He said that if I didn't get him back his drugs or money he would kill Oliver, my aunt and me." Felicity sagged in Lance's arms. "Oliver is blinded with his need to protect me from my mom's enemies. He is going to die trying to keep me alive. I don't know what to do."

Lance lowers her back into her chair and kneels in front of her. "I think you kids have been operating outside of the law for so long now, you forget it can be your ally. Not everything needs to be done in the shadows. Make Orlov face justice in the light of day."

She sniffles and rubs her eyes. "May I have my tablet back now? I have an idea."Lance retrieves her tablet and places it in front of her. She leans in and places a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for the dad-like pep talk. I needed it."

"You're welcome," he moved to his office door as an officer called his name, "you still need to eat your sandwich."

It only took seconds for Felicity to reconnect with the lair. She'd laid a trail in order for her to find the money again, but the FBI could follow it too. For the past year she's been collecting evidence on Oscar and his entire Bratva operation in Vegas. She was going to turn over everything she has to Vic and let the FBI take care of Oscar. Oliver doesn't need any more blood on his hands. For the first time in a long time she felt the weight lifting from her shoulders. She was going to find a way out for all of them and justice for every man, woman and child, Oscar Orlov ever murdered or hurt.

 

VVVVV

Felicity silently watched Oliver open the rolling cabinet, withdraw a handgun load a clip and load the chamber. Watching him arm himself with a gun and bullets instead of a bow and arrows didn't feel right and made her stomach painfully clench. He placed the handgun in his waistband at the small of his back and slid into his brown leather jacket as he approached her. Her brain was flooded with adrenaline and she thought she was going to crawl out of her skin. She needed to stop what was about to happen and none of her options seemed viable. She eyed the case containing the sedative laced blow darts. There wasn't any way she'd be able to retrieve them without him noticing. She hadn't installed the new security system and couldn't lock them inside until Diggle and Roy returned from tracking Darkh. They were due back in the morning, but Oliver refused to wait for his partners. Her eyes flitted around the room, her brain scrambling to find anything to slow him down. Reasoned argument had failed. She'd explained her plan to return Oscar's money and then provide the trail of breadcrumbs to Vic and the FBI. Oliver shot down her plan and said she'd never be safe as long as Oscar lived. The only option left to her seemed to be crying, begging and guilt, otherwise known as, emotional blackmail.

Oliver stood in front of her with a grim countenance. He shifted nervously from foot to foot as he tugged on the edges of her sweater. He opened his arms and she allowed him to pull her into a tight embrace. He spoke so softly she had to strain to hear. "If I'm not back by morning, I'll need you to call Dig to tell him where I went. Once you call him, you'll need to go to the mansion and wait. He'll know what to do, so you won't need to worry about it."

Felicity sucked in a sharp breath and pulled away from him. He was telling her to tell Dig to retrieve his body and initiate the protocol they established in the event of his violent death, but that she shouldn't worry about it. She wanted to slap him. "Oliver." He used his thumb and forefinger to lift her chin. He looked into her eyes and kissed her. It felt like a goodbye. "No." She said firmly.

"Felicity. You're going to need to call Ned and tell him to release the marriage license to the press. My will is in our closet." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry that you're going to have to face the media gauntlet alone until Thea returns from London."

"No." She slammed her foot down on the cement floor. "I'm not having another sending you off to war conversation. After Slade, I vowed, never again. There has to be a better way. Wait for Dig and Roy to get back. Call Sara. Confront Oscar as the Arrow. Anything but this." She was begging and she didn't care.

"He came into my wife's office and threatened your life. No more games. I need to end this, not the Arrow." He clasped her to his chest and kissed her desperately. "I love you."

He pulled away and left her breathless. It took a second for her brain to catch up that he was actually leaving. She ran to the stairs and slipped beneath the railing. She stood on the second step from the bottom with her arms braced between the wall and the railing and blocked his way. "Wait."

"Felicity," he begged, "don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Harder?" Her voice filled with incredulity. How could he even say that to her? Letting him walk away to his probable death was nothing but hard. "Don't go."

His face softened and his eyes welled with tears. "Felicity. I will always fight to come home to you."

"Not once in three years have I ever asked you not to put your hood on and not to walk out the door. I have watched you leave to face dangerous people. I have listened to every punch, knife slash and gunshot. I have watched you flat line twice, taped your ribs, pushed dangerous amounts of lidocaine into your knees and put in more stitches than I can count and still I never asked you to stop. I have always believed in you and your mission and I know that your devotion to this cause might mean that I lose you before I'm ready to, but Oliver, there is nothing noble in this. This is suicide. Oscar isn't worth you sacrificing yourself for. I'm not worth sacrificing yourself for."

Oliver gasped and clasped her face between his hands. "Felicity Smoak Queen, you are absolutely everything to me and so worth it."

His words made her heart swell and she felt even more desperate to hold onto him."Oliver, I am asking you now, as your wife. Don't go. There is always another way."

The tears in Oliver's eyes spilled over. "Felicity, I love you and this year has been the happiest of my life. Thank you."

She felt herself fill with hope. She'd gotten through to him and bought them more time to come up with a plan. She smiled. "I love you."

He pulled her into his chest and kissed her. His hands freed her hair from its ponytail and he ran his fingers through the loosened strands. Her feet left the stairs as he held her tightly against him. Oliver pressed a kiss to her neck as he turned them. He lowered her to the ground and placed a kiss to her forehead. Without making eye contact, he turned and began to climb the stairs.

Felicity's legs gave out beneath her. As he reached the top step, in desperation, she said the hardest thing she'd ever say in her life. "You promised you'd never leave me by choice. If you walk out that door, that is your choice, but when you come home, I won't be waiting. That will be mine." She knew she'd never be able to walk that ultimatum back, but if it kept him from walking out the door, she was willing to lose his love if it meant saving his life. She watched the line of his shoulders stiffen as his hand hesitated on the door. He took a deep breath and stepped through. A wail escaped her lips as the door closed behind him.

It took a minute for Felicity to regain her wits. She might've just broken up with the love of her life, but she'd be damned if she wouldn't save his life. Her brain started to catalogue everything about what Oliver had told her about his meeting. She moved to her computer and pulled the meeting location up on the large standing monitor. It was part of the new waterfront complex designed to draw more international cargo from the crowded Los Angeles port. All of the construction was new within the past year. A smile crept across her face as she pulled up the contractor for the building they were meeting at. Sure enough, the building had been constructed by one of the dirty contractors and was on the city's list to be re-inspected. Until it was deemed safe, the warehouse was required to remain vacant. Most of the new buildings on the waterfront that had been sealed by the city until they were either approved for occupancy or bulldozed for safety were currently being used by one criminal organization or another. Felicity celebrated Oscar's arrogance because it would finally be his undoing. She checked Oliver's tracker. He was still fifteen minutes away from the rendezvous but she still needed to move fast. She pulled up the city's power grid and hacked her way inside. She didn't care if her hack was dirty, it just needed to be fast. As she set the grid to send a power surge into the warehouse district, she pulled out the Arrow's phone. She called 9-1-1. When the operator picked up she said through the modulator. "There's been an explosion down at the Starling City Port. Building 1052 is on fire." She hung up before the operator could ask a single question. Felicity then texted Oscar, _If you want to live, run!_ She brought up the port's security cameras and watched the stream of the warehouse. No one was leaving. She looked at Oliver's tracker and then back to the monitor. She gave them a chance, but Oliver was out of time. As Oliver told her once before, there was no choice to make. Without hesitation she entered the command that sent power rushing through the transformers and into the warehouse. She watched multiple transformers explode around the building. Arcs of electricity lit up the sky and blinded the cameras for a moment. When the arcs stopped, it took a moment for Felicity to see fire begin to erupt around the transformers. She held her breath as she waited to see if the warehouse would become a raging inferno due to the substandard building materials and faulty sprinkler systems that had permeated the new construction in the Glades. The police scanner indicated that police and fire were responding to a possible explosion down by the port. Oliver's tracker indicated he was almost there. _Please_ , she begged the universe. _Please_. A strangled cry left her lips as she watched smoke begin to billow out of the warehouse and flames begin to lick the roof. She could see a fireboat approaching and prayed that no one entered the building. She watched in horror as the fire jumped to neighboring buildings. She knew from her research that they were supposedly vacant too.

The fear that her actions would cost an innocent's life, she grabbed her own phone and called the Captain. "Miss Smoak. What can I do you for?"

"Captain, I need you to listen. There's a fire down at the new waterfront. You need to order your men and the fire department to stay out of the warehouses. They were built with counterfeit materials. Anyone who enters will die. They need to let it burn."

She could hear him shouting orders to his men. Returning his attention to her, he softly growled into the phone, "Felicity. Is he in the building? Is he safe?"

Felicity gulped. She saw Oliver pull up on his bike at one of the port gates. His head was moving from side to side. He could probably hear the approaching sirens and smell the smoke. He stilled as he tried to make a decision. _Come on, Oliver. Turn around. Turn around._ She sighed in relief as he spun the bike around his planted foot and sped off in the direction he came. "He's clear," she gasped. The Captain disconnected the call and Felicity watched Oliver's tracker move across her monitor. Satisfied that he was returning to the lair, she shut off her monitors, grabbed her coat and headed up the stairs. She delivered an ultimatum and now she had to live with it. Even if it broke her heart. Even if it broke his.

vvvvv

Felicity used her key and let herself into her Aunt Rosie's apartment. The lights were off and she entered as quietly as she could. Rosie had flown home from London that morning. She promised Felicity she was only coming home in order to get a decent cup of coffee not because she was worried about her. Felicity didn't want to speak to her aunt and wished she was still in London. She had no idea what she'd tell her happened. She couldn't exactly tell her that she broke up with Oliver because he ignored her request to not confront a Bratva Captain in a fight to the death or that the whole waterfront was now on fire because of her desperate decision. Her phone buzzed. She didn't need to look to know it was Oliver and that he'd returned to the lair and found her gone. She pulled up the tracker on her phone and waited for Oliver to make his decision. Would he look for her at the mansion or would he realize she'd returned to her old apartment? She watched as his tracker began to move again and held her breath at an intersection. He turned left towards the mansion and she knew that she had about forty minutes before he arrived on her doorstep. She sat down on the sofa and watched his light blink as it got closer and closer to the mansion. The hall light came on and her aunt jumped in fright when she saw Felicity sitting on her sofa. "Felicity? Is everything okay?" Words failed her as she tried to tell her aunt that nothing would ever be okay again. She dropped her head and began to sob. Her aunt sat down beside her and pulled her into her arms. "Sshh. What happened?" Rosie asked with concern.

"Ol-Ol-Oliver." Felicity wailed.

"Did you have a fight with Oliver?"

"We, we broke up."

Rosie stroked Felicity's head. "Couples fight. Even couples as in love as you and Oliver. Whatever happened, you'll find a way to fix it."

"No, we won't. We broke it."

"Did he cheat? Did he lie?"

"No."

"Did you?"

"No."

Her aunt pulled away and tugged on Felicity's chin until she was looking in her eyes. "Did he hit you?"

Felicity shook her head, hating that her aunt could think something so terrible of Oliver. He'd sooner saw off his own arms than lay a finger on her in violence. "No."

"So, there's nothing that happened that you can't come back from."

"He didn't pick me."

"What?"

"He chose," Felicity paused unsure of what she could or should say, "he chose, work."

Her aunt laughed. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but you're calling off your wedding because Oliver went to a work meeting instead of coming home to you?"

It wasn't exactly accurate, but it was close enough. "Yes."

Her aunt stood up. "I know you were raised with more sense than that. I know he's a billionaire, but he's responsible for thousands of people, he has to work hard. It's part of why you love him so much. His sense of duty." Her aunt sighed as Felicity's face crumpled. "Oh, sweetheart. Wait right there. I got up to use the girl's room." Rosie disappeared into the bathroom and Felicity checked Oliver's tracker. He was at the mansion. Her phone rang again. She looked at his picture as the phone continued to buzz. "Does that boy know where you are?" Felicity shook her head. "It's not fair of you to scare him that way. How would you feel if you came home and he was missing and refused to pick up the phone?"

Felicity felt the hot tears roll down her face. Her aunt was right. She knew Oliver well enough to know that he was probably frantic with worry. She picked up her cell and braced herself. "Hey."

She could hear him take a shuttering breath. "Thank god. I thought maybe you went to the warehouse. Everything is on fire."

She never thought he'd worry that she might have somehow followed him and gotten trapped in the fire. "I'm safe. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"Where are you? Why aren't you at home?" His voice was high the way it only got when he was scared for her safety.

She hesitated only for a moment. "I'm at Aunt Rosie's."

"Rosie's? Is she okay? Did something happen?" He asked with concern.

"She's fine."

"Then why are..." Oliver paused and she could picture his face as he realized why she wasn't home at the mansion. His voice went cold. "I'm on my way. Please be there when I get there."

Felicity placed her phone on the coffee table and sank into the sofa. "He's on his way."

Her aunt handed her a glass with a shot of brandy. "Good, maybe he can talk some sense into you."

"It's not that easy." Felicity swallowed the shot.

"It never is." Her aunt took the glass away from her. "Felicity, relationships aren't like fairytales. They're a lot of hard work. When you put two people together with separate identities but ask them to think and act as one, there are bound to be hiccups. Relationships are about compromise. You can't always get your own way." Felicity snorted. Her aunt ran her hand against the back of Felicity's head. "I don't know what happened tonight, but I think you might've been steering your boat in opposite directions. The only way to get back on course is to talk about it."

"I never thought it would be so hard."

"Love is hard."

Felicity smiled. "No, loving Oliver is easy. Living with him is hard."

Her aunt laughed. "I'm sure that's very true. But do you love him?"

Felicity nodded her head. "Yes."

"Then fight for him, Felicity. Don't be like your mom and run when things get hard or when you're disappointed. There are going to be times when the person you love disappoints you or infuriates you. There were times when I couldn't stand the sight of your uncle's face, but I never stopped loving him. You just have to acknowledge the hard times and decide how you move forward, together."

"I don't think he'll ever forgive me for leaving."

"I think he already has. He's on his way, isn't he?" Before Felicity could respond she could hear the sound of Oliver's bike. "Go wash your face. I'll let him in."

Felicity kissed her aunt's cheek. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Her aunt kissed her back. "Go on, get, you silly creature."

Felicity splashed cold water on her face and took several deep breaths. She could hear her aunt and Oliver speaking softly in the living room. She studied her reflection in the mirror. The rest of her life depended on what happened when she walked through the door. She loved Oliver and wanted to build a life with him, but she wasn't sure if that was even realistic. The past year had been like living a dream. Sure they'd had their moments, but they always found a way back to one another. Loving Oliver and being loved by Oliver were all she thought she wanted, but then he told her he loved her and walked out the door to face certain death. He had chosen death over fighting for them. If their love wasn't stronger than his sense of duty there would be more nights like tonight and she wasn't strong enough to watch him leave her. Her head snapped to the bathroom door when she heard her aunt's bedroom door close. With another deep breath she turned the knob and stepped into the living room.

Oliver was pacing back and forth in front of the sofa, his fingers nervously rubbing together. He stopped and his face relaxed in relief when he saw her standing there. "I was so worried when you weren't at home. I thought you'd followed me and that I'd left you behind in that inferno." He pointed to the television.

Felicity gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. She hadn't noticed the television had been turned on because the sound was off. The screen was filled with flames. The whole port appeared to be on fire. "What have I done?" She whispered.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair. "I thought I'd lost you." She moved to pull out of his arms, but he tightened his grip. "I know I screwed up when I walked out. I made it as far as the port before I realized what an idiot I was. We don't walk away from one another, we face everything together, that was my promise and I'm sorry I nearly broke it."

She pushed against his chest until he let go. "I saw you on the cameras. You didn't come back for me. You left the port because of the fire."

He shook his head. "I didn't know about the fire until I got to the mansion. Raisa was watching it on TV."

Felicity looked at his face and knew that he was telling the truth. He'd turned around for her.  She threw her arms around his neck. "Take me home."  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read my story. All feedback is welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> Next up: September and the end of Oscar.


	12. September

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All good things....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have come to the end of the road. This is the last chapter in The Ties That Bind trilogy. I only hope that you have enjoyed reading this series as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
> 
> It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since part three of this story began. I've been writing and rewriting this chapter for several months and I think it has taken so long because I'm reluctant to leave this universe and all of you. I started this trilogy during the hiatus between season's two and three and here we are in the winter hiatus of season four. Who would've thought that our beloved ship would be engaged by season 4's midseason finale? 
> 
> This journey has been amazing. When I posted the first chapter of The Ties That Bind, I hoped that just one other person would read it and like it. I never imagined I would have so many people read and respond to the universe I created. I've enjoyed all of the interactions I've had with all of my readers and I've been blessed to make friends over the course of this story. I am overwhelmed and grateful for each of you who have taken the time to read this series - I know it wasn't a small commitment. Thank you for every kudos and comment that you have sent my way. I can't articulate what it means to me as a writer when I send my words out into the void and someone answers back. You have all responded so generously. If I could, I would hug each and every one of you.
> 
> I would be remiss if I didn't thank Like a Bird and the Laughing Duchess who have been with me since the very first chapter of this series. Both of you have made me think, made me laugh and given me encouragement when I was ready to give up. Laughing Duchess is the best sister a girl could ask for. Like a Bird has become a friend who I anxiously awaited to hear from after each chapter and now look forward to hearing from every week to discuss all things Arrow and life in general.
> 
> I would also like to thank Ohmypreciousgirl who has said such nice things about this fic and has recommended this series on Tmblr to so many new readers. I always know when Naty has said something sweet when my inbox is flooded with kudos. Your appreciation for my version of Olicity has left me humbled.
> 
> You've trusted me this far, please follow me a little further - just until the end.
> 
> There is violence and strong language in this chapter.
> 
> The Arrow characters and universe, as much as I love them, do not belong to me.

Burning down three hundred acres worth of warehouses was a lot more destruction than Felicity had anticipated. She'd known when she started the electrical fire that it could spread to adjacent buildings, but she never imagined that the fire would spread throughout the whole warehouse district. She was a genius, so of course she could've imagined it - she'd actually imagined cronuts before they were a thing, but she never thought she'd add arsonist to her skill set.

Felicity had spent the day in her home office logged into Starling's emergency management system. To her great relief, Lance's orders to fall back had prevented any injuries and fatalities amongst the SCFD and SCPD, but a search for civilian remains amongst the ashes had yet to begin. Felicity gnawed at her bottom lip as she took in what her love for Oliver had wrought. She'd been reckless and her fear had prevented her from keeping a clear head. She should've hacked an A.R.G.U.S. satellite to perform a thermal scan of the area to determine if there were any people present in the warehouses before she sent the surge through the power line, but all she'd been able to think about was Oliver and keeping him safe.

A soft knock drew her attention to the door. Oliver stood in the hallway. He shifted uneasily on his feet and seemed hesitant to cross the threshold. He'd been gone from their bed when she'd woken up that morning and they'd done a good job of avoiding one another all day. "Hey," he said gently.

The corners of her lips raised slightly and she turned her attention back to the monitors. "Have you heard from Lance?"

He moved to the armchair opposite from her desk and sat down. "Briefly. They don't know if there were any fatalities yet. They need to wait for the site to cool down. They're going to begin their search at building 1052."

She hummed in agreement. It was the same information on the screen in front of her, but she'd hoped that Lance might know more than what was available online. "No news is good news, I guess."

"Felicity," Oliver said with an edge to his voice, "we need to talk about last night."

Felicity looked up in surprise. She fully expected to get a dressing down for starting the fire, but from John not Oliver. "I know starting the fire was a rash decision."

Oliver grimaced. "I'm not talking about the fire."

"Oh." She turned off her monitors so her focus would remain solely on Oliver and the very wounded look on his face.

"We both made choices last night before you even started the fire." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again his eyes locked with hers. "I'm sorry that I put you in a position where you were forced to make a desperate choice. I know I need to be a better listener. You were trying to tell me something last night and in the moment, I didn't listen. All I could think about was ending this situation with Oscar." His eyes shifted to the window and Felicity waited patiently as she knew he was trying to find the words for what he was feeling. "When I realized he had you it was like everything stopped." His eyes returned to hers. "I knew that I couldn't get to you and that Oscar could take you from me and that there was nothing I could do to protect you. It was like Slade and Richie Thompson all over again." His fists clenched where they rested on his thighs. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. He could've killed you."

She shook her head and leaned forward. "But he didn't. You need to realize that I can take care of myself. I wouldn't still be doing this if I couldn't face being threatened by a super villain or two."

"As Roy likes to remind me, you're a total badass," his grin turned to a sad smile, "but that doesn't mean that I don't want to keep all of this from ever touching you. I want you safe." He shook his head, "No, I need you safe."

"I told you once that I don't want to be safe. I want to be with you, unsafe." She held her hand up to stop him from speaking. "This has always been my choice. The moment I decided to drive you to the foundry instead of the hospital, I was all in."

Oliver looked at his feet. "Dig didn't want you on the team."

She smiled. "I know, he told me."

Oliver shook his head. "He didn't want you involved because he didn't trust me. He didn't trust that I wouldn't hurt you or get you killed in my single minded focus on the list."

"I don't think that's true. John wouldn't have kept your secret if he didn't trust you." She reached her hand across the desk and he took it. "I always trusted you."

"You shouldn't have. I was dangerous and I was selfish. I wanted you on the team then because I needed your skills. It wasn't until you came to Lian Yu to bring me home that I realized I needed you. Not the IT girl, but you, Felicity. It scared the hell out of me. It still does." He squeezed her hand before returning his to his lap.

Felicity didn't think she'd ever get over the fact that the man she married needed her every bit as much as she needed him. "Oliver."

Oliver's eyes seemed to be in deep contemplation of his toes. "Wait, please. I didn't come in here to say all that."

HIs words seemed ominous and she did her best to ignore the swarm of fluttering butterflies that had taken up permanent residence in her stomach. "Okay, what did you want to say?"

"I'm grateful that you chose to trust me and to believe in me because I'm so much better with you than without you. I like who I am and I don't ever remember a time before you came into my life where I actually liked myself." He stood up and moved to her side of the desk and offered her his hand. She slid her hand into his and he effortlessly pulled her onto her feet and into his arms. "I promise that I will never turn my back on you like I did last night or put my own fears ahead of yours." He pressed his forehead to hers, "But Felicity, I need you to promise me that you will never say you're leaving unless you really mean it. Scream at me, tell me you need to get some air, but don't threaten to end our marriage because we're having a disagreement."

Her fingers tightened reflexively against his biceps as her blood ran cold. "Divorce? I didn't say," she snapped her jaw shut and sagged against him. No, she hadn't said the words divorce but she thought they'd broken up when the foundry door closed behind him. His arms tightened around her and she rested her ear against his chest. "I'm sorry, divorce never even occurred to me last night. I was so scared I was going to lose you and I wanted you to choose me, to choose us."

He lifted her chin and lowered his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss. "I will always choose you."

She fisted the front of his shirt in her hands. "I burned more than fifty buildings to the ground last night and not so long ago you put three arrows into a man's chest - all in order to save each other. That kind of love scares me." She pulled out of his arms and pressed her fist against her chest. "I think something deep inside of me will break if I ever lose you."

"Hey," he stepped forward so he could cradle her face between his hands.

Tears slid down her cheeks. "Knowing you has been such a gift. You gave me a chance to live a life I never dreamed possible and I don't mean the money. I'm better with you than without you too, but the without is what terrifies me. What if the me without you is dangerous?"

He smiled kindly as his thumbs rubbed against her cheeks. "Felicity, you are the kindest and most generous person I've ever known. That wouldn't change if something happened to me."

"Oliver, I was selfish last night and my vision narrowed to only the two of us. I briefly thought about  if the buildings were empty, but in the end it didn't matter. That's not what heroes do. It's what villains do." Felicity said with shame.

"What are you saying?" He asked with a look of panic in his eyes.

"I don't know," she removed his hands from her face, turned her monitors back on and sat down in her chair, "but last night I was willing to burn the world to the ground to keep you alive and I don't know if my love cost someone else their life. I'm no different than Malcolm Merlyn or Slade Wilson."

He winced. "Felicity."

"They let their love poison their minds." She said angrily.

He spun her chair to face him as he knelt before her. "Their actions had nothing to do with Tommy's mom or Shado, they were merely excuses. You didn't set fire to those warehouses to watch them burn."

Felicity had to turn her face away from the intensity of his gaze. With a voice barely above a whisper she said, "An earthquake machine. Mirakuru soldiers. Setting a fire. I don't see how they're different."

He turned her chin back towards him and waited for her to meet his eyes. "You're nothing like Merlyn or Slade. Do you want to know how I know that?" She nodded her head as tears continued to run down her face. "They never tortured themselves the way you are right now. You care about people and how your actions impact them. You're not a villain."

She vigorously wiped the tears from her eyes. "Let's wait until we learn if anyone died last night before we decide if I'm a villain or not." Felicity turned her chair back towards her monitors. Oliver squeezed her shoulder before placing a kiss to the top of her head. She watched him over the top of her monitors with tear filled eyes as he walked out of the room.

vvvvv

The bed shifted beside her and she rolled to face the middle of the bed. Their room was bathed in darkness and Oliver moved through the inky black like a cat. She heard the bathroom door open and close before she heard him speaking in a low murmur. Felicity sat up and grabbed her glasses from the nightstand. It was barely three o'clock in the morning and in her experience there was no such thing as a good phone call before sunrise. The bathroom door opened and closed. She could sense the moment Oliver realized she was awake.

"Felicity?" He asked in a whisper.

"What's happened?" Her voice was full of worry.

Oliver returned to bed and reached for her in the darkness. His arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her into his side. "It was Lance. They got some preliminary results from 1052."

Felicity's chest tightened. "They found a body," she said with certainty.

"No. After what Lance told me, I don't think they will." He let out a sigh. "The investigators found evidence of an accelerant and an explosive device."

Felicity reached across Oliver and he let out a grunt as she used his chest for leverage. With grasping fingers she turned on the lamp. "That son of a bitch was planning on blowing you up?"

Oliver brushed Felicity's hair out of her eyes. "Well, he did hire several assassins to take me out. It's not all that surprising."

"He was going to blow you up." She launched herself out of bed and grabbed her laptop. "Frack."

"Felicity?" Oliver pushed the covers aside and followed her across the room.

"This wasn't about you. It was about me. He wanted to distract me with your death." She turned her computer to face him. He raised his eyebrows. She tapped her screen trying to draw his attention. "He drained all of the accounts I restored money to. He thinks he can hide his money from me." Her fingers flew across the keyboard and as she watched her back traces work their magic a grin spread upon her face. "I have a plan and you're absolutely going to hate it."

VVVVV

"Your plan is flawed." Nyssa said as she rested her hands on the med table.

"No one has seen Oliver or the Arrow since the day of the fire." Felicity countered.

Dig rolled his eyes. "No one except your entire household staff."

"They won't talk," Thea said with certainty. "I hired them for their discretion and they all signed iron-clad non-disclosure agreements."

"I was not referring to Oliver," Nyssa said curtly.

Sara rested her hand on Nyssa's arm. "Felicity, you're making a big assumption that Oscar will come for you personally. He has used assassins before. There is no reason to believe he won't use them again."

"That's why I have my own assassins to look after me." The playful smile fell from Felicity's face as she took in the grumpy expressions of her friends. "I know Oscar. He is greedy and vengeful. He will come for me because he will want to force me to return his money and to kill me himself." Oliver flinched beside her and she squeezed his hand.

"Come on," an exasperated Lance said from where he leaned against the staircase. "Queen, please tell me you're not seriously considering this. Talk some sense into her."

The presence of the Captain in the lair was only slightly more disconcerting than Thea's. "Captain, you're the one who told me that we should allow the law to take care of Oscar." Felicity's tone was sharp. She didn't appreciate the implication that Oliver was responsible for her decisions or that he had control over her.

"Don't," Lance pointed a finger at her, "you say this was my idea. I would never suggest this. I would never use you as bait."

"Dollmaker," Felicity said under her breath.

"Not only was that his idea," Lance nodded towards Oliver.

"Actually, it was hers," Oliver muttered.

Lance fixed Oliver with a pointed look and continued, "It was a really bad one and look how great it turned out. Felicity got a concussion and Laurel and I got abducted."

"Leave me out of it," Laurel said looking from the files she'd been reading. "This guy needs to be brought to justice and nothing else has worked."

"You've been awfully quiet." Oliver directed to Roy.

The young archer stood glaring at the floor with his arms folded across his chest. "Are we voting?" He locked eyes with Oliver ,"Because if we're voting, I vote no."

"Roy," Felicity let go of Oliver's hand and moved towards her sullen friend.

"Brains," Roy pointed to Felicity. "Dumb muscle," he pointed to himself. "You stay in the basement. That's the deal. You tell us where to go and we get shot at, not you." Roy said angrily as he directed his attention to Oliver. "This guy has tried to kidnap her, twice, and he very nearly blew the two of you up. What part of dangerous psychopath aren't we all understanding?"

"I've been out in the field before. This isn't any different." Felicity said defensively.

"Yeah, the field, where we have a mission and a plan to get in and get out without getting you killed. This isn't the field. This is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until we catch him." Roy shouted.

"I will have everyone in this room keeping me safe," Felicity said soothingly.

Before Felicity realized what was happening, Roy's open hand landed against her cheek. The sound reverberated through the basement for what seemed like minutes. All at once everyone moved around her. Within seconds, Dig had Oliver pinned against a wall and Sara had dropped Roy to the floor with her boot pressed to his throat.

"Stop." Felicity commanded. Tears stung her eyes as she rubbed her cheek. Roy hadn't hit her hard. His blow wouldn't leave a mark and the sting was already gone. She sank to her knees and Sara removed her boot from his throat. Roy sat up. "Why?" She asked taking the hand that had struck her.

"There are five trained fighters less than ten feet from you and not one of them was able to protect you." He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "We can't protect you." He raised his eyes to Oliver's. "We can't protect her."

Silence filled the lair. Felicity slowly rose to her feet. "I need a moment." She made her way to the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the harsh fluorescent light. The plan was risky, she knew that, but they needed to finally get the upper hand or it was only a matter of time before Oscar succeeded in killing Oliver or her or both of them. She leaned over the sink and splashed cool water over her face.

When she stood up, Oliver's reflection was watching her. "Are you okay?" He handed her a towel.

"I'm okay. He didn't hurt me. It was more the shock of it." She turned to face him and rested her hands on his chest. "You didn't kill him, did you? Blood is really hard to get out of concrete."

Oliver huffed through his nose. "No, but I told him if he ever laid a hand on you again, I'd shoot him again and this time in a place he values a lot more than his leg."

Felicity exhaled heavily. "He was only trying to make a point."

"He made it." Oliver rubbed his hands over his eyes. "Maybe a bit too well."

"I need to do this." She said pulling gently on his t-shirt.

He groaned, "I know." Oliver squeezed her hand and she knew he was agreeing to support whatever decision she made.

She straightened her shoulders and strode back into the main room and addressed the group. "Here's the thing. This is my choice. Oscar Orlov must be stopped and this is the best way to do it."

Laurel began to gather the files. "Sounds like I need to find a judge to issue a warrant."

Captain Lance sighed heavily. "I better have a conversation with the coroner and our new fire marshal. We're going to need them to corroborate our story."

Felicity's phone vibrated with a new message from Vic. "Looks like we're all set for six."

"I'll be there." Laurel said with a big smile. "We're gonna get him this time."

"I'll  call Ned," Oliver said to Felicity as he tilted his head. She gave him a smile of encouragement and stepped into his side so she could wrap an arm around his waist. "Before everyone heads out, there's something we need to tell you."

Sara giggled as she put her arm around Thea's shoulder. "Ollie, you're going to be in so much trouble."

"What did you do now?" Thea asked as she nervously looked between her brother and Felicity.

Oliver looked at Thea with contrition. "I'm sorry, Speedy, but you're really not going to like it."

VVVVV

Felicity squirmed in the make-up chair as she listened to Vic's introduction. "Are you okay?" John asked as he squeezed her shoulder. "You're making your about to hack face."

"Our whole plan hinges on this interview. I'm a terrible liar. What if no one believes me?"

"Oliver is the terrible liar, besides, almost everything you're going to say tonight is the truth."

"Yeah, it's not the truth I'm worried about." Felicity rubbed her temples, her ponytail suddenly feeling too tight. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Felicity, you're going to do fine."

"Excuse me," a young woman said, "I need to put your mike pack on."

John kissed her cheek. "I'm going to stand right next to that camera. I'll be in your line of sight the whole time."

Felicity grabbed Dig's hand. "What if he doesn't see this?"

His thumb swiped across the rings on her finger. "Look on the monitors in the control room. Every cable news show is running this story. He'll see it."

Felicity was led to a round table where she was seated between Captain Lance and Laurel. Vic sat across from her and gave her a reassuring smile. "Breathe, Felicity. It will go quickly."

The lights in the studio dimmed and she lost sight of Dig. As the director counted them down, her chest began to tighten.

"Good evening I'm Vic Sage and tonight my guests and I will be discussing bribery, greed, corruption, arson and murder. Captain Lance is a twenty year veteran of the Starling City Police Department and is the current head of the Major Crimes task force. Laurel Lance has been the acting District Attorney of Starling City for the past fourteen months. She successfully led the prosecution of Roger Alsop and David McClaran for crimes ranging from perjury to manslaughter. She recently announced that she will be running for District Attorney this November. My final guest is Felicity Smoak, the head of Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences. Welcome."

Felicity found her mind drifting as she listened to Vic, Laurel and Lance discuss the corruption and greed that led to the rebuilding of the Glades with counterfeit building materials. Laurel and Vic were painting a strong case against Oscar before his name had even been spoken.

"Felicity?" Vic asked as Laurel's hand dropped to her knee and squeezed.

"I'm sorry," Felicity said as she tried to refocus.

Vic smiled kindly but she could tell from his eyes that he was worried. "I want to thank you for being here. Earlier today, Queen Consolidated released a statement that you and Oliver Queen were married in July. The records of your marriage had been sealed. Why the secrecy?"

"Our wedding was planned for February of next year, but Oliver was concerned that something might happen to him and we decided that we didn't want to wait that long to be married. Our family was so excited about the wedding, we didn't want to take that away from them, so we decided to keep our marriage a secret." Felicity was relieved that she was able to answer Vic's first question truthfully.

"Why did you decide to break your silence today? Why announce to the world that you're married?" Vic asked.

Felicity opened her mouth to speak, but the words couldn't get past the lump in her throat. She couldn't say the words aloud, even if they weren't true. Tears filled her eyes as she willed herself to speak.

Lance's hand rested gently against her back, before he cleared his throat. He folded his hands in front of him on the table. "Three nights ago Starling City's new warehouse district burned to the ground. While we hoped the fire was accidental, our investigation revealed evidence of a bomb. We also found human remains. Today, the coroner confirmed that the two bodies found belong to Oliver Queen and the man we have come to know as the Arrow.

"Felicity, why did you want to speak with me this evening?" Vic prodded gently.

"It's time the people of Starling City learn the truth. I want to make sure that Oliver didn't," she swallowed heavily. " I want to know it wasn't all in vain."

Felicity took a sip of water. Her hand shook as she returned the glass to the table. "Last August, the new Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences building partially collapsed while under construction. The engineer's report revealed that several of the steel support beams and rivets were counterfeit. The materials were incapable of supporting the weight of the building. Oliver began to look into where the beams and rivets came from. He knew that with all of the rebuilding efforts in Starling, ours couldn't be the only building built with substandard materials. His inquiry brought him to the attention of the Arrow who had been conducting his own investigation into the fires in the Glades. They compared notes and decided that they were looking for the same person or group and began to share information."

"What did they learn?" Vic asked.

"They learned that Oscar Orlov, a Bratva Captain from Las Vegas, had taken advantage of the power vacuum created by the deaths of Triad leaders during last year's siege. In addition to counterfeit building materials, Orlov was also using the Starling docks to traffic in drugs, weapons and people."

"The twenty eight women who died in January were trafficked by Orlov?" Vic asked.

Felicity nodded. "That is what the Arrow believed."

Vic continued. "You also believe that Orlov was responsible for the RPG attack that resulted in the murders of your bodyguards."

Laurel interrupted. "The man hired to kill Mr. & Mrs. Queen has started to cooperate and has told us who hired him. He isn't the only one talking. Witnesses are lining up to testify against Oscar Orlov."

"You are satisfied that Oscar Orlov hired an assassin to kill the Queens?" Vic directed his question to Laurel.

Laurel nodded. "Today a judge issued an arrest warrant, with one hundred and seventeen charges, for Oscar Orlov. Fifty seven of the charges are for murder."

"What were Oliver and the Arrow doing at the warehouses three nights ago?" Vic asked Felicity.

"The Arrow asked Oliver to convince Orlov that he was willing to cooperate after the RPG attack. Oliver thought he was meeting Orlov. The Arrow was there to capture Orlov and deliver him to the police."

The rest of the interview went by in a blur as Vic asked Laurel and Lance about legal issues and how policing techniques would need to change in the Glades without the presence of the vigilante. Before she knew it, Dig was ushering her out of the studio and into the Bentley. She used the time in the car to transfer all of Oscar's money from his accounts to the ones she'd created along with a convincing paper trail. She anonymously sent Agent Abbott all of Oscar's new bank account numbers and proof that they belonged to him. If nothing else, the Feds could get Oscar on tax evasion. Oscar no longer had access to his wealth.

As Dig predicted, the gates of the mansion were swarmed with national news crews by the time Felicity arrived home. She covered her face until Dig had made it past the first bend in the driveway. Playing the grieving widow was draining and Felicity was looking forward to crawling into bed with her very much alive husband. Her cell rang and she sighed. "Hi, Aunt Rosie."

"You looked absolutely beautiful." Rosie said with a lot more enthusiasm than Felicity was ready to deal with.

"Okay, but did you buy me as a grieving widow?" Felicity asked knowing her aunt wouldn't be shy about criticizing her performance. Felicity and Oliver had decided that it would be too cruel to allow Rosie to think he died, so they had told her the truth, or the version of the truth that they told Walter, Ned, the coroner and the fire marshal. Oliver and the Arrow were working with the police and the FBI and had agreed to fake their deaths in order to draw Oscar out of hiding.

"I had to remind myself that Oliver is alive. You were very convincing." Rosie said reassuringly.

Felicity dropped her tablet back into her bag. "Good, now we have to hope Oscar was watching."

"I don't know about Oscar, but Rabbi Finkel was watching. He called me and said that Oliver's official conversion was merely a formality and he is willing to officiate the funeral."

"We can't have a funeral. He's not really dead." Felicity said in a rush. She barely got through the interview, there wasn't any way she'd be able to fake her way through a funeral.

"Felicity, you just announced on television that your husband was blown up. You can't not have a funeral." Rosie's voice was laced with exasperation.

"What am I supposed to bury?" Felicity asked? "An empty suit?"

"Lucky for you, he was blown up. You don't have to bury anything. It can be a memorial service for family only."

"I'll need to discuss it with Oliver." Felicity said as she kissed any thoughts of sex with her husband goodbye. Nothing killed the mood faster than making funeral arrangements.

"That's fine, I told Joshua that I would speak with him tomorrow after I had a chance to discuss it with you. While you're talking to Oliver about the funeral, don't forget about sitting Shiva." Felicity groaned. She loved Oliver for wanting to convert, but right now they didn't have time to sit Shiva for a pretend death. "Felicity, if you don't sit Shiva people will be suspicious. They will think the tabloid stories are true."

"He didn't convert yet. We can tell everyone we had a private non-denominational service." Felicity offered, hoping her aunt would agree with the idea.

"Your husband, and we will be discussing that later, has been attending temple every week since you got engaged. Everyone knows he met with Joshua regularly for lessons. Even the tabloids have written about the conversion of Oliver Queen. You can't just go with a non-denominational service."

"Fine, I'll talk to Oliver about his fake funeral and seven day mourning period. He's going to be thrilled." Felicity knew she sounded like a petulant child, but she didn't care.

"Good. I'll call you in the morning so we can discuss the details. Good night, darling." Rosie hung up before Felicity could speak.

Originally, she'd worried that Oliver would get cabin fever while hiding in the mansion waiting for Oscar. Now she had to worry about being confined to the house for seven days while she publicly mourned in front of people parading through the mansion with their condolences as her brooding husband paced in their bedroom. She hoped Oscar made his move before Oliver went stir crazy or she blurted out the truth. Dig opened the back door and helped her from the car. She gave him a tired smile when he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She' set her trap for Oscar, she just had to have faith that it wasn't her team that got caught when it snapped shut.

vvvvv

Felicity's fingers absently ran across Oliver's torso, tracing his scars. The shark bite on his lower abdomen was receiving most of her attention. Her fingertips dropped into the grooves of each tooth mark, gave a swirl and then moved onto the next. Oliver tightened his grip on her shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"

She hummed, her fingers splaying against his stomach. "The eulogy I'm supposed to give if I can't stall your funeral long enough for Oscar to make his move. I was just thinking of all the things that had to happen in our lives to bring us to this moment. One different decision - zigging instead of zagging." She let out a puff of air against his chest. "Our lives are a confluence of events that brought us together."

Oliver's fingers stroked through the ends of her hair. "I guess it's a good thing that the shark didn't think I tasted any good."

She shook her head. "There was no way that shark was going to find you appetizing."

"What?" Oliver asked offended.

She turned so her forearms rested against his chest and she dropped her chin to place a kiss to his pec before beaming at him. "Please, you have zero percent body fat. You're probably tough and sinewy. No one wants to eat that, not even a shark."

He laughed and rolled them over, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose. "My life without you in it is unthinkable."

Felicity shuddered playfully. "My life would be so boring."

"No," he smiled softly before placing a kiss to her neck. "If you hadn't spent all your time with me, you probably would've had time to create something brilliant and revolutionary and start your own high tech company. Zuckerburg and Bezos would be eating your lunch."

Felicity's fingers traced his cheek and her face softened. Sometimes the faith Oliver had in her and her abilities was overwhelming. "God, you really do love me beyond reason."

"So much." He kissed her slowly, taking his time to show her how much he loved her.

When they paused to catch their breath, she grinned. "If you never met me, you'd probably be super broody and there'd be a shortage of tennis balls."

"No," he said solemnly, "I'd be dead."

"Oliver," she gasped. Her eyes welled with tears and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist at the thought that one day, sooner than she was prepared for, she might need to deliver his eulogy for real. "That, is unthinkable."

VVVVV

A rap on the door had Felicity calling, "Come in." She looked up from where she was seated on the edge of her bed. An uncomfortable Roy opened the door. He was dressed in a well tailored expensive dark suit. She looked down at her own designer dress and the pair of thousand dollar shoes in her hands and smiled. "For two kids from the wrong side of the tracks we sure do clean up nice."

Roy grinned. "Yeah - you just make it work. This feels like more of a costume than my red suit ever has."

His eyes darted around the room nervously and the smile fell from her face. "He's not here. He went looking for Sara." She felt badly that Roy was feeling on edge around the people he considered family. It seemed like she was the only one who had forgiven him.

He let out his breath and entered the room. Felicity patted the space beside her and he sat down. "I realized that I apologized to Oliver, Dig and Thea, but you're the one I really need to apologize to. I don't know what I was thinking and I wish I could still blame my stupidity on the Mirakuru." Roy pressed his fingers to his eyes. "I swore I'd never be anything like my old man. After Thea, well, you mean the most and I raised my hand against you. I know you can never forgive me, but I just want you to know how truly sorry I am."

Felicity sighed. Roy's childhood had been as fraught with neglect as her own. She'd watched him go from an angry teen to a compassionate man. He was every bit the hero Oliver and John were. "Roy, I accept your apology and I forgave you the second after you did it." She took his hand. "You are nothing like your father. You didn't raise your hand in anger or in an attempt to control me. You didn't hurt me. I think baby Sara has hit me harder than you did."

"I still shouldn't have done it." Roy said, his face red with shame.

"No, you shouldn't have." Oliver said from the doorway. "But you were right. With what we do, we sometimes forget that we aren't invincible."

Roy moved to stand up, but Felicity held onto his arm. "You need to let this go. We're a family and a family forgives, no matter what." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and then used her thumb to wipe her pink lipstick from his face.

He stood up and smirked at Oliver as he walked out the door. "She's the very portrait of a grieving widow."

Felicity stood up and looked at her reflection. "I'm wearing black." Oliver raised an eyebrow and then looked down at her feet. "Red's too much, right?"

He grinned, "Maybe not for my funeral."

She frowned at her reflection. "I'll go change."

He took her arm as she walked past him. "I don't like seeing you in all black." He kissed her chastely.

"I hate this, even if it's just pretend." She said stepping out of the red shoes.

"Me too." He followed her into the closet, carrying the shoes she'd just removed.

She held his arm as she put on a pair of plain black pumps. "I just wish I'd been able to stall the funeral longer than three days. I feel terrible about putting everyone through this."

Oliver returned the red heels to their spot in the shoe vault and then took her by her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "I thought Oscar would've made his move by now. I'm sorry you have to do this alone."

Felicity took one last look at herself in the mirror. "I'm not alone and I know you'll be lurking somewhere nearby."

He held out her coat so she could put it on. He gently pulled her ponytail free from her collar and placed a playful kiss on the side of her neck. "I don't lurk. I observe."

She caught his eye in the mirror. It had been decided that Dig was going to be playing the role of bodyguard and not the grieving friend which left Roy to be the one at her side protecting her during the funeral. For her sanity, Felicity needed her team to be united so she could focus on the role she had to play in public. "You have to let Roy off the hook and you have to tell everyone else to do the same. He did it because he loves me and wants to keep me safe."

Oliver didn't look happy, but he nodded his head. "You're right. I'll let him out of the doghouse - tonight." She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. He raised his hands in surrender. "All right, as of now, he's out of the doghouse."

She kissed his cheek and stopped herself from removing the lipstick mark she'd left behind. The pink imprint of her lips on his face made her feel a little lighter. "You're a smart man, Oliver Queen."

"I married you, didn't I?" He winked at her before he steered her towards the door. "Come on, you don't want to be late for my funeral."

VVVVV

Felicity slipped out of the living room and crossed the foyer to the drawing room. The shrouded mirrors made her shudder. Everything about Oliver's fake death was too real for Felicity. It was like she was living her worst nightmare and there was a part of her that feared that the Oliver hiding in her bedroom was a delusion and that his funeral had been reality. She'd been close to losing all control of her emotions at the memorial service, especially when Moria's close friend, Jessica Danforth, had shared a sweet story about a young Oliver. Receiving guests as they made their Shiva call was even worse. Felicity felt like she wasn't able to breathe and had to escape from the well meaning visitors who wanted to share stories about Oliver. Felicity had believed that Oscar would strike quickly, but she was starting to worry that he was dragging it out to torture her. She told herself she'd only slip away for as long as it took her to check her tablet and the progress of the searches she was running.

She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief once the drawing room door closed behind her. Felicity's anxiety returned once she remembered why she'd been avoiding the drawing room for the last few months. She stepped further into the room and her fingers began to absently run along the long table that had been placed into the room after they announced their engagement and the presents began to arrive by the delivery van full. Even after they issued a press release, asking people who were inclined to give them gifts to make donations to the Queen Foundation instead, the presents continued to pour in. She was at a loss for what to do with all of the gifts. It wasn't like she and Oliver needed anything and rich people didn't give useful presents that could be donated to a charity. She could only imagine the tabloids and what they'd report if the newly married Queens donated an ostrich feather throw, a mother of pearl and platinum caviar spoon, a six foot statue of a fertility goddess and a set of sterling silver corn on the cob holders to the woman's shelter in the Glades. Luckily, some of the gifts came with receipts and she had been planning on returning whatever she could and donating the money to the Queen Foundation. Unfortunately, when things became crazy with Oscar, she'd allowed the mound of presents to grow out of control. A groan escaped her lips as she thought about all the thank you/sorry I told you my husband was dead notes she would have to write to everyone who was making a Shiva call on top of all the notes she still had to write for the wedding presents. Oliver's fake death was going to cause her very real work.

The drawing room door slid open. "Excuse me, Mrs. Queen."

Felicity turned to find Peggy standing in the door. "Come in, I just needed a minute."

Peggy scanned the room to make sure they were alone before she slid the door closed as she stepped into the room. "Can I get you anything? A glass of water? Something to eat?"

Felicity held her tablet against her chest. "I'd like a stiff drink, but I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have alcohol on my breath."

"I'm sure everyone would understand." Peggy suddenly turned her back to Felicity and stifled a sob. "I'm so sorry. I came in here to check on you. I promised him, I'd always keep my eye on you."

Felicity placed her tablet on the table before placing a comforting hand on her assistant's back. "It's okay." She felt terrible for lying to people, but she felt especially bad about lying to Peggy and Gerry. Both of their assistants had grown attached to Oliver, but Peggy and Oliver had bonded over looking after Felicity. When he returned from the dead she and Oliver would have to think of something to make it up to their assistants for what they put them through.

"You and Mr. Queen were so happy and it was such a pleasure just seeing the two of you together. The smile he used to get on his face whenever he talked about you," Peggy shook her head, "well, it was a beautiful smile. He once told me that spending five years on that island was worth it because if he hadn't, he never would have met you. Even if you only loved him for five minutes, it was worth it."

Tears welled in Felicity's eyes. "He told you that?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. It was a sentiment he'd shared with her, but Oliver was always so guarded around other people. She was unexpectedly moved that Oliver had shared something so personal with someone that wasn't a member of his family or team.

Peggy smiled as she took Felicity's hand. "He was bringing you lunch, but you were on a call, so he sat down on my desk. He started asking about how much coffee you'd had and I was teasing him about it, like I normally do, and he just got this far away look on his face. I think he surprised himself that he said it out loud."

Felicity laughed. "A bad habit he picked up from me." She squeezed her hand.

Peggy wiped her tears and regained her composure. "Oliver loved you, Felicity, and he knew that you loved him. Don't ever forget that."

Felicity wiped her own tears. "Thank you, Peggy."

"Are you sure there isn't anything I can do for you?" Peggy asked.

Knowing how much Peggy hated to feel useless, Felicity turned to face the mountain of presents. "I'd really like to return or donate as much of this as possible."

Peggy straightened her shoulders and was instantly transformed into the assistant Felicity had come to rely on. "Of course. Gerry and I will take care of it as soon as you're done sitting Shiva."

She smiled. "That will be a huge help." Felicity smoothed her skirt and felt her ponytail for any loose strands. Satisfied that her armor was back in place, she took a deep breath and left her momentary sanctuary to face the grieving public.

She was halfway across the foyer when the front door opened. The arrival of her step-brothers made her stop in surprise. Felicity turned to Peggy. "Would you please tell my Aunt Rosie that I'll be a few more minutes?" Peggy nodded and disappeared into the living room.

"Hi Felicity." Stevie said as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry about Oliver."

Felicity hugged her step-brother back before she reached out to hug Joey. "What are you doing here?"

"Your husband died. Where else would we be?" Joey took her hand. "We're family, right?"

Felicity was instantly brought back to the moment in her childhood when she had to pack her bags and leave the two brothers she'd come to love because her mom had failed at another marriage. They had solemnly promised her that she would always be their sister because they were family. As she looked at the concern on their faces she wondered if it were actually possible to die from Jewish guilt. "It really means a lot to me that you both came, but Steve, you really shouldn't be here."

Steve clenched his jaw. "The Bratva can't expect me not to pay my respects to my kid sister."

"The last thing we need is for the Bratva to think your father is declaring war on them." Felicity said in almost a whisper. "Does your dad even know you're here?"

Stevie steered her back towards the drawing room. "Of course he knows we're here. The only reason he didn't come is because he didn't want to start trouble for you here in Starling."

"If the Bratva are watching the house," Felicity said with genuine worry, "they might come after you."

"Wait a minute," Joey said. "Are you in trouble? Has anyone threatened you?"

"They killed her husband," Stevie said angrily, "of course she is being threatened."

Felicity rested her hand on Stevie's arm. "I know I can't ask you not to worry, but I'm going to ask you to trust me."

Stevie narrowed his eyes at her. Joey was the better student of the two brothers, but Stevie had always been shrewder. Felicity had never been able to put anything past him when they were kids. "You're up to something."

Felicity turned to her other brother. "Dr. Joe, Aunt Rosie has been baking for days and I'm pretty sure there is still chocolate babka. I know she'll be thrilled to see you, just so she can feed you."

Joey's face lit up in a smile. "Any chance for matzo ball soup?"

"I know there is some in the freezer that we can send you back to Central City with." Felicity offered.

"That's good enough for me." Joey put his arm around Felicity's shoulder and she wrapped an arm around his waist. "You need to get back to your guests and I need for Aunt Rosie to try and fatten me up."

Stevie's arms were folded across his chest and the glare he was shooting her could give Oliver a run for his money. "Boomer, you better know what you're doing."

The promise that everything was going to be fine died on her lips. "I'm a genius, remember?"

 Stevie nodded his head. "Yeah and I also remember how many times being a genius got you into trouble."

VVVVV

Felicity's slippers softly padded down the back stairway that led to the kitchen. Something had pulled her from her sleep and she was restless. Oliver had been sound asleep and she'd been tempted to wake him in order for him to help her burn off her anxious energy, but she couldn't bring herself to deprive him of the sleep he needed. She'd gotten out of bed to check her searches when she remembered she'd left her tablet downstairs. If she was going downstairs she decided that she might as well add some tea to her late night plans. She quietly moved through the kitchen as she filled the kettle and placed a peppermint tea bag into her favorite oversized mug. All types of desserts were lined up on the counters and ready for the next day's Shiva call. Once she placed the kettle onto the stove, she stole a piece of mandel brot and made her way to the living room in search of her tablet. When she couldn't find it, she moved to the entryway table in the foyer. Felicity had a bad habit of leaving tech lying around the house and the staff had taken to leaving anything they found on the entryway table. She groaned and tapped her foot impatiently when her tablet wasn't on the table. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time she had it. "Peggy," she said softly to herself. She'd placed her tablet on the drawing room table when she'd hugged her assistant.

Felicity flipped the light switch on as she entered the drawing room. She sighed in relief when she spotted her tablet exactly where she'd left it. The click of the door closing behind her startled her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she slowly turned towards the door. She let out a small squeak of surprise as her eyes focused on the barrel of  the gun Oscar had leveled at her head. Felicity backed up until she felt the table against the back of her thighs.

Oscar brought a single finger to his lips. "Stay quiet and no one else will need to get hurt. I'd hate to have to kill that pretty sister-in-law of yours. It would be a shame if I had to kill both of the remaining Queens tonight."

Felicity slowly nodded her head. If she cried out she'd be dead before Oliver or Roy got out of bed. Dig was somewhere on the property checking the patrols, but she had no way of knowing where he was on the grounds. She needed to alert them without tipping her hand to Oscar. There were two silent panic buttons in the room. One was behind Oscar and the other was by the fireplace. She slid along the table towards the fireplace as if her fear was trying to distance her from the gun.

Oscar lunged for her. His hand closed tightly around her bare arm and he pressed the muzzle of his gun between her breasts. She followed the gun with her eyes and was suddenly aware that she was braless in a worn tank top and her flannel matruschka doll pajama pants. _Please don't let me die in these pajamas._ "What do you want?"

Oscar sneered at her and pushed the gun harder into her chest. She did her best not to wince. "For a genius, you are incredibly stupid. If you'd only left me and my money alone, I would've left you alone to live your life in peace."

She tore her eyes away from the gun. "You blew up my husband. Did you honestly think I'd let you get away with killing Oliver? You had your money, why didn't you just leave us alone?"

He clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Killing Oliver wasn't' personal. It was just business. He was ineffective as Captain and his failure was costing me money. He left me no choice, but you, you had a choice and you chose wrong. When I kill you, it will be personal."

Felicity fisted her hands against her thighs in an attempt to keep herself from trembling and betraying her very real fear. "What do you want?"

Oscar lips grazed her ear. "Not only are you going to return all of my money, you're going to transfer the entire Queen fortune to me."

A laugh bubbled out of her. "You're going to kill me. I'm not giving you one penny."

His grip on her arm shifted to around her throat, but his grip remained loose. "You're going to do exactly what I tell you or after I'm done with you, I'm going to kill Thea Queen and your precious Aunt Rosie. Maybe I'll spare Thea and put her to work for me instead. A lot of men will pay a lot of money to fuck an heiress." He tugged her by the throat and led her back to where her tablet was resting on the pile of presents. "Pick it up."

"No," she said defiantly. He could threaten her loved ones all he wanted, she wasn't going to give him what he wanted.

"I don't have to kill you quickly. Your husband introduced some sadistic techniques to the Bratva. He showed a flare for causing maximum pain and administering slow deaths. Would you like a demonstration? I could start on your Aunt Rosie. She's right upstairs, isn't she?"

Felicity's fear was instantly replaced with rage. "You won't get within ten feet of Thea or Rosie and if you kill me, you will leave this house inside a body bag."

Oscar laughed, took a step back and struck her across the face with the handle of his gun. The force of the blow freed her from the grip he had around her neck which caused Felicity to stagger backwards into the table. A noisy avalanche of presents fell to the floor. Her vision blurred and Felicity sagged to the floor, but for the first time since she entered the room she had hope that she would survive. She thought that someone had to have heard the presents crashing to the ground. She slid under the table and began to crawl towards the fireplace.

His hand clamped around her ankle and he began to pull her. "Where do you think you're going?" He growled.

Felicity desperately clutched at the presents under the table as Oscar dragged her towards him. He straddled her waist and put his hands around her throat. He'd put his gun down on the floor, but it was out of her reach. It was a cliche, but as Oscar's fingers closed around her throat and she fought to free herself from his squeezing fingers, her life played out before her eyes. Images of the life she'd built wih Oliver flashed in front of her and she knew she had to fight. She couldn't die with Oliver, Dig and Roy only feet away from her. It would destroy them. It would destroy her family and she'd waited her whole life to have this family and she'd be damned if she let Oscar Orlov take that from her. She clawed at his hands but when his grip didn't loosen she let go and stretched her hands under the table, her fingers frantically searching. Felicity's fingers landed on the edge of a small box. She moved her eyes and would've cried out in joy if she wasn't being suffocated. She struggled to pull the box closer so she could open the lid and tip out its contents. She managed to pop the lid off and as her fingers wrapped around the cool metal spots began to dance in front of her eyes. She knew she was out of time and she summoned her remaining strength to drive the metal she clutched in her hand into the side of Oscar's neck.

Oscar reeled backwards as he brought his hands to his own throat. Felicity used his weight pressing against her legs as leverage. She grabbed her tablet and as she sat up she swung at the side of his head. Oliver, Roy and Dig burst into the room just as Oscar slumped sideways to the floor unconscious. Oliver was immediately at her side pulling to free her legs from beneath Oscar's body.

Oliver's hands were everywhere as he searched her for injuries. "Are you okay?" His voice was pitched slightly higher than usual and betrayed his fear.

Felicity tried to speak but the words wouldn't form. She gasped for breath as Dig kneeled over Oscar's body with his fingers against the man's throat. She tried to speak again and she was able to rasp out, "Is he dead?"

"He's alive. Knocking him out probably saved his life. If he managed to pull this out, he would've bled out." Dig rose to his feet, keeping a wary eye on his partner. He kicked the gun out of Oliver's reach.

Felicity's eye fell to the small silver object sticking out of Oscar's neck. She brought her hand to her throat and managed to say, "Remind me to send Amanda a thank you note."

Oliver's lips fell to the top of her head and his arms tightened around her. "I think I'll send her one too."

VVVVV

The small sterile room was silent but filled with tension. Felicity sat on a gurney in Starling General's ER. Oliver held an icepack against her cheek and she held one against her throat. Dig stood behind her with his hand pressed against her back as he held a silent conversation over her head with Oliver. Roy, in his red hoodie, stood in front of her with his arms folded across his chest as he stared at her with moist eyes.

She held out a hand to Roy and motioned for him to come closer. She tugged on his sweatshirt and he immediately removed it. Oliver put the ice pack he was holding on the narrow bed and began to unzip his brown leather jacket. "Are you cold?" He asked with concern.

Felicity took hold of Roy's sweatshirt and put one arm through a sleeve. Dig took hold of the hoodie's shoulders and helped Felicity put her other arm through. Roy zipped the sweatshirt closed and Felicity smiled at her friend in triumph. Her throat was swollen and the doctor had told her not to speak, but she couldn't resist. In a voice that sounded more frog than human, she said, "It's mine now." Roy's eyes widened in alarm. "I'll buy you a new one - in blue." Dig and Oliver huffed out a laugh and Roy rolled his eyes at her.

A throat clearing drew their attention to the door. Captain Lance stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Orlov is in surgery. The docs think he's gonna live."

Felicity let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the Captain in thanks. In the moment when she had to decide between her life or Oscar's, there'd been no hesitation. Now that she was safe and the people she loved were safe, she was relieved that she hadn't killed Oscar. She wanted him to stand trial so that all of his victims would have their day in court. The voiceless deserved to be heard and recognized.

"She still hasn't been taken to x-ray?" A clearly annoyed Lance asked Oliver.

Felicity felt Oliver tense. "No, there is a line. Strangulation isn't a priority."

"I'm fine." She squeezed Oliver's hand. "Not life threatening."

The Captain winced at the sound of her voice. "Should she be talking?"

"No." Oliver, Dig and Roy said in a resounding chorus.

"Okay, since she's not talking, do you three want to tell me what happened tonight?" Lance looked from Oliver to Dig to Roy and was met with stony silence. "Don't all talk at once."

Oliver returned the ice pack to the bed and tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear and began speaking directly to her. "I woke up and you weren't in bed. I radioed Dig. I thought maybe you went downstairs to raid the fridge and asked John to keep you company."

Dig picked up the story. "I was outside on the grounds checking on my patrol when Oliver radioed me. I could see the light on in the kitchen and I told him I'd meet up with you both." Dig hung his head. "I told him to make sure you had little marshmallows for my cocoa. When I got to the kitchen door, it was locked, but I could hear the kettle whistling. I looked through the window and couldn't see you. I started banging on the door and radioed Roy to tell him to call the cops and to meet us downstairs.

Oliver continued the story, but this time he addressed Lance. "When I got to the top of the back stairs, I could hear the kettle whistling and then Dig started banging on the back door. I let him in. Dig turned off the stove and we cleared every room as we moved towards the front of the house. We met up with Roy in the foyer. We heard a noise coming from the drawing room and found Felicity." Oliver looked at Felicity with pride. "She'd already knocked Oscar out by the time we entered the room."

"It looks like he snuck into the house with the mourners and found a place to hide." Dig said.

Felicity hated the look of self-recrimination on John's face. "Hey, not your fault."

"My officers have been searching the house. They found a wig and a fake beard. He disguised himself." Lance offered.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Roy said. "We screwed up."

"No." Felicity's voice was barely above a whisper, but the four men jumped. "I'm alive. Oscar is in custody. No one screwed up." Her three partners looked away. She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop any tears from falling. Even though it had been her risky plan, she knew that her team blamed themselves and that she sat in a hospital bed because they failed her.

When she opened her eyes, Lance was giving her a sympathetic smile. "So, Ms. Smoak," he held up a finger, "Mrs. Queen. If he's the Arrow - and he's Arsenal - and he's," Lance looked at Diggle.

"The black driver." Dig winked at Felicity. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered the first real fight she ever had with Oliver. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"What does that make you? The Silver Corn Cob Holder?" Lance grinned when Felicity groaned. "I sure hope you get a nicer costume than these two."

"It's not a costume," Oliver grumbled under his breath.

"Speaking of," Lance lowered his voice. "The press is outside waiting for confirmation that Oliver Queen is alive. They're also asking about the Arrow. Are you ready to come back from the dead - again?"

"Go ahead and give your statement about Oliver Queen. I'll hold a press conference in the morning to apologize for any pain I caused." Oliver began to roll his thumb and index finger.

"What about the Arrow?" Lance asked. "Do you want me to release a statement or should the Arrow just go back to work and let everyone figure it out on their own?"

Oliver took hold of Felicity's hand. "Maybe the Arrow should stay dead."

"What?" Four stunned voices echoed throughout the small room.

Oliver shrugged. "This could be my chance to walk away."

"Oliver?" Felicity croaked. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or worried that Oliver was thinking about retiring from being the Arrow.

Dig placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Why don't you sleep on it? It's been a tough day and you're probably not in the best place to make a decision."

Before he could respond there was a sharp knock on the door and a nurse and an orderly entered the room. "X-ray is ready for you now, Mrs. Queen."

Oliver helped her settle into the wheelchair. Felicity gripped his hand and studied his face. He smiled softly at her. "Dig's right. I don't need to make a decision tonight." She tilted her head back for a kiss and he obliged.

The orderly had barely pushed her into the hall when the nurse stopped. Felicity turned in her seat, ignoring the way her neck burned with the movement. Oliver, Dig and Roy were following them. "We'll have her back in twenty minutes. You can go grab a cup of coffee."

Roy took a step forward wearing his most devastating smile and glanced at the nurse's name tag before he spoke, "Becky, where she goes, we go."

The nurse opened her mouth to disagree, but seemed to change her mind. Felicity rolled her eyes when the nurse squeaked out, "Okay."

Felicity couldn't decide if the nurse was persuaded by the scowls on her guys' faces or if it was how their biceps bulged from having their arms folded across their chests. The easy smiles that fell across their faces when the nurse acquiesced filled her with happiness. Once again, Team Arrow was victorious.  


VVVVV

It was a rare bright and cloud free day in Starling City. The courthouse was mobbed with what appeared to be every camera crew in the country. Oscar Orlov was finally going to be arraigned and Felicity and Oliver were going to be there to watch. Even though Laurel was confident that Oscar would be denied bail and the arraignment was a mere formality, Felicity had insisted on attending. She wanted to see Oscar in handcuffs and powerless. Felicity stood at the top of the courthouse stairs with her hand in Oliver's as they waited for the van from the county jail to arrive. Laurel stood next to Felicity looking like a wrathful angel ready to take Oscar down. Felicity took comfort from knowing that Laurel had been preparing her prosecution for months and that Oscar's defense attorney's didn't stand a chance.

Dig poked his head between Oliver and Felicity. "He's here."

Seconds later, the jail transport arrived. Several police officers surrounded the van as a guard opened the vehicle's door. Oscar stepped out of the van wearing a suit and tie and would've looked the part of a successful business man if it weren't for the chain around his waist and the shackles around his wrists and ankles. The press moved forward in a giant swarm and the police created a human barricade to keep them away from the prisoner. Felicity lost sight of Oscar in the throng of people.

Oliver released her hand and turned his back to the street. He pushed Felicity towards Dig when a scream sounded from near the van. Before Felicity could register what was happening, Dig had pulled her into his arms and moved her towards the courthouse door. "Oliver." She called out, but he was already in pursuit of a target.

Once inside of the courthouse, Dig released her. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. Stay here." He turned to Laurel. "Don't let her out of your sight."

Felicity pulled her phone out of her purse and immediately checked her news feeds and gasped.

"What?" Laurel asked.

Felicity held up her phone so Laurel could read the headline for herself. _Oscar Orlov Shot By The Arrow._

VVVVV

Team Arrow plus Sara, Nyssa and Thea were all standing in the living room of the Queen mansion. Felicity held the remote to the television as they all watched Vic's special report on the shooting of Oscar Orlov. Video footage of Oscar being struck by an arrow was on a continuous loop. She was grateful that Vic wasn't reporting that the Arrow had been the one to shoot Oscar. Vic kept saying that there was no direct evidence that the Arrow was the shooter and he was going to wait for the police to identify the shooter.

"He's dead." Oliver said.

"We don't know that," Felicity responded without diverting her attention from the television. She knew that Oliver was right, she just hoped that he was wrong. "Vic hasn't said that he's dead." She could feel Oliver looking at her in disbelief. She turned her head to look at him.

He pointed to the television. "That is a kill shot. He was dead before he hit the pavement."

"Isn't anyone curious who shot Oscar with an arrow?" Roy asked. "I know I didn't do it and I know Oliver didn't do it. I wonder, do we know any other archers?" He gave the Heir to the Demon a very pointed look.

"I did not kill Oscar Orlov," Nyssa said, "but I will not weep for his death. I would have made him suffer before I ended his miserable existence."

"Was it the League?" Oliver asked. "The League has been looking for him for a long time. Your father might've decided it was time to act."

"It wasn't the League." Sara said with certainty.

"How can  you be sure?" Oliver asked incredulously.

Nyssa squared her shoulders to Oliver. "Because I did not tell my father that we identified our target. He does not know that Oscar Orlov was the man we sought."

The living room door opened and Captain Lance and Laurel entered. Lance was carrying an arrow inside of a long evidence bag. "Is this one of yours?" He held out the arrow to Oliver.

Oliver took hold of the arrow and Felicity moved towards him when she saw the blood drain from his face. "Oliver, what is it? Is it one of yours?"

He shook his head and held it out to her. "Take a look."

Felicity took the arrow from Oliver. It definitely wasn't his. The shaft and the fletching were black, not green. She turned the arrow in her fingers and spotted writing towards the end of the shaft. She lifted it closer to her eyes. She read the numbers twice before she looked at Oliver in disbelief. "It can't be."

"That is one of Malcolm Merlyn's arrows." Oliver said.

"He's dead. So someone must've gotten a hold of his stash of arrows." Dig said.

Felicity watched as a look passed between Sara and Nyssa. "What do you know?"

Sara and Nyssa had a silent conversation that ended when Nyssa cocked her head to the side and nodded. Sara gave Thea and Oliver an apologetic look. "Malcolm isn't dead."

Oliver eyed Lance and then Thea. "I'm sorry Thea, I didn't want you to find out this way. I killed Malcolm the night of the Undertaking. It wasn't the earthquake."

"I watched him do it." Dig said to Sara. "There's no way Merlyn is alive."

"He was called the Magician for a reason." Nyssa stated.

"Malcolm isn't dead?" Thea asked fearfully.

Sara stepped into Oliver's space and took hold of his arm. "Ollie, trust me when I tell you that Malcolm is alive."

"Why would Merlyn kill Orlov?" Lance asked.

"That is an excellent question." Nyssa placed a hand on Sara's shoulder. "I think it is time we leave Starling and find out what Al-Sahir has planned."

"What about the Arrow?" Felicity asked Lance. "Is the anti-vigilante task force going to start hunting for him again?"

Lance took the arrow back from Felicity. "This arrow clears him. We'll tell the press the truth - the Dark Archer has returned."

Felicity watched as Oliver's jaw flexed and his eyes turned to steal. She knew that if Malcolm Merlyn was back from the dead, so was the Arrow.

VVVVV

Being a hero often felt like a twenty-four hour, seven days a week kind of responsibility. Even though most of their days were spent focusing on the day to day operations of QC, a good portion was also spent investigating leads and tracking down suspects for their night time operation. Their nights, while spent in mutual focus, were mostly spent apart. Oliver's time was split between working out and patrolling the streets while Felicity's attention was always on her computers and the information she needed to extract from it to find someone for the guys to chase or information that would keep them safe on the street. An entire night off at home, together, was a rare luxury. A coastal storm was bellowing outside and the torrential rain was flooding the streets. No one was venturing outside in the messy weather and the criminals of Starling City were taking the rare night off which allowed Team Arrow to do the same. Diggle was cooking dinner for Lyla and Roy and Thea were down the hall doing "platonic" things while Oliver and Felicity were sprawled out on the sofa in their bedroom. Oliver sat at the end of the sofa with his legs stretched out in front of him on the ottoman. Felicity was leaning against his side with her legs stretched out across the sofa. Both were catching up on non-Arrow work.

Felicity placed her tablet on her lap and sighed as she stretched, pressing herself against Oliver. The arm he had draped across the back of the sofa dropped to embrace Felicity across her shoulders. He absently dropped a kiss to the back of her head. "This is pretty pathetic," she declared.

"Hmmm?" Oliver mumbled as he continued to read from his tablet.

She folded her legs and spun to face him. His arm dropped to her hips and squeezed, but he continued to read. Frowning, Felicity reached for his tablet and gently pulled it from his fingers. She glanced at it long enough to see that he was reading something for the Queen Foundation before she put it behind her to join her own tablet. "We have a night off and we're not spending it doing some dreadful PR event and what are we doing instead? We're working. That's so wrong. We should be making dinner together like Dig and Lyla or watching a movie or playing video games or talking about non work things or having wild monkey sex, not reading proposals and quarterly reports."

Oliver drew up his legs and spun to face her with a wide grin on his face. "Are we voting on our preferred options, because I know what I'm voting for."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I mean. We're wasting a perfectly good opportunity to just be Oliver and Felicity."

He reached out and took her hands in his. "Can I tell you what I'd like to do?"

She laughed. "I'm pretty sure I know what your vote is, but I have to tell you, I don't exactly know what constitutes wild monkey sex. Like is that a thing? You know, like a pig in a poke."

Oliver burst out laughing. "I'm pretty sure a pig in a poke means you shouldn't buy anything sight unseen."

Her brows rose and she eyed him with skepticism. "Are you sure? Because it sounds pretty dirty and the whole internet economy is based on buying things sight unseen."

He leaned over and kissed her as best he could with a huge smile on his face. "As much as I'd like to find out just what you think a pig in a poke is, I'd like to go for the talking option."

She pressed the back of her hand against his forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever."

Oliver grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I promise, no fever or head injuries. I just want to talk." Butterflies began to swarm in her stomach. In her experience whenever someone wanted to talk, she usually didn't want to hear what they had to say. She must have looked worried because he kissed her hand again. "It's nothing bad or I hope you won't think it's bad."

She squeezed his hands and scooted closer so that their knees were touching. "I'm all ears."

"I had lunch with Walter after the Queen Foundation board meeting." Felicity nodded to let him know this was old news. "We started talking about one of the projects I want to fund on early childhood intervention." She knew the project Oliver was referring to, he'd been extremely excited by it. The proposal was based on a program that had met with large success in a few Midwestern cities comparable in size to Starling. "Walter said he'd never seen me this excited by anything at QC and that I show more passion for the work at the Foundation than I do with my work as CEO of QC."

She smiled. Walter was right. Oliver was much more engaged with the Foundation's charitable projects than he was with anything at QC. "I've noticed the same thing. I guess that means we're going on a CEO hunt."

"Not exactly," he said coyly.

"Has Walter agreed to return as CEO?" She asked hopefully.

"Not exactly." He grinned at her huff of annoyance. "Even though Walter is family, we agree that QC needs a Queen at the helm." She tilted her head as she studied his face. He squeezed her hands tighter. "Walter agrees with me that now that we're married, you're a Queen so there is no reason to wait for you to become CEO. Hell, you're practically doing the job now."

She pulled her hands free and stood up from the sofa. "Un-uh, no way."

"Felicity." He said cautiously.

She started pacing. "I'm not ready to be CEO. The board will never go for it. I'm not even thirty yet."

Oliver stood up. "What does your age have to do with anything?"

"You can't be president of the United States until you're 36. If I'm not old enough to be President of the United States, then I'm not old enough to be CEO of QC."

He started to  laugh. "I don't think one has anything to do with another. Look at all the Silicon Valley CEOs. A lot of them were CEOs in their twenties and I know you're smarter than them."

Felicity cocked her head. "Flattery will not work this time. What if I screw up?"

He took hold of her hands and pulled her close. "If you screw up, you'll find a way to fix it, but you can't screw up any worse than I did."

"That's not very reassuring." She rested her head against his chest.  "This is your family legacy, yours and Thea's. I don't think I could live with myself if I'm responsible for ruining what your dad built for you guys."

He grabbed her hands. "Hey, you're a part of this family now. It will be our family legacy, you, me, Thea and any future Queens. I don't want you to maintain what my dad built, I want you to surpass it. I want QC to be the kind of company that we can be proud of. The kind of company that reflects our values. My vision for QC has always been your vision. Instead of telling me what to do, wouldn't you rather be the one telling everyone what to do?"

She grinned, "I do like telling you what to do, but I also like that we're building this together. I like that you're right down the hall from me."

He smiled. "You'll still get to tell me what to do and I'm going to have a seat on the board. We'll still be building our vision for Starling together. QC, the Foundation, the team - we'll still be partners."

Felicity really hated that she seemed incapable of saying no to Oliver. "Okay."

"Okay?" Oliver asked in disbelief. "I thought we were going to fight about this longer."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I can easily change my mind, if you really want to fight about it some more."

He put his hands up in surrender. "Nope. You agreed. I'm good."

She pat his chest. "Good call, but, we're not telling anyone until after the honeymoon. We need to take this slow and make it an orderly transition so we don't spook investors. We can make the announcement right after we release the first quarter results."

Oliver looked down guiltily, "Um, we can't wait until after the wedding."

"Why not?" She asked as she tilted his chin back up. "Thea's doing a great job running the foundation and I'm sure you can stick it out a few more months at QC."

Oliver scrunched his nose and pursed his lips. "I'm not going to work for the foundation."

"I don't understand," Felicity said as she shook her head in confusion, "you just said that you preferred working on foundation stuff."

Oliver clasped her hands and smiled. "I do, but I don't want to work at the Queen Foundation. Thea is doing a great job and doesn't need me stepping on her toes. I just realized that it feels good to help people out in the open. I can do a lot for the people of this city as Oliver Queen, but I can't effect the types of changes I want as CEO of QC, or the Director of the Queen Foundation, or even as the Arrow." Oliver took a deep breath. "Felicity, I'm going to run for mayor."

If Oliver had told her he was joining the circus to become a lion tamer she couldn't have been more surprised. "The mayor?" She asked in disbelief. "Oliver, the election is in November. It's almost October. How can you run for mayor? There's not enough time."

"No one else is running." Oliver said in way of explanation.

She stood up from the sofa. "Yeah, there's a really good reason for that. The mayors and candidates for mayor in this city have an unfortunate habit of getting murdered."

"The city needs someone who isn't corrupt or afraid of the criminals and who wants to return Starling to the jewel it once was. With you running QC and creating new good paying jobs, Thea funding development of the Glades, the team fighting at night and me fighting city corruption during the day we might actually save this city."

"I can see how much you want this and I want to be the kind of wife who supports all of your dreams." Felicity's eyes welled with tears and her voice choked. "I want to say, do it, be mayor, but I can't."

Oliver's brow furrowed in concern. "Why not?"

"Almost every night for three years I've sent you out into the darkness to fight for this city knowing that every time you walked out the door you might never come back.  I've learned to live with that fear because I love you and I believe in our mission." She put her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "During the day is the only time that I know that you're safe and that I don't have to worry about some lunatic with a knife or a gun taking you away from me." Oliver was about to speak, but she shook her head. "I know that safety is an illusion and you could just as easily be taken from me when you're being Oliver and not the Arrow, but I at least have the daylight. Doesn't Starling get enough of you as it is? Doesn't part of you belong to just me?"

"Hey," Oliver cupped her cheeks and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Every part of me belongs to you. I want to do this so the city no longer needs the Arrow. I want us to be able to make evening plans that don't involve people shooting at me. I want a city where we can just be Oliver and Felicity. I'm tired. It's been eight years of constant fighting to stay alive or to keep the city and the people that I love safe. I want to be your husband and cook you dinner, not make you worry every time I walk out the door."

Felicity was at a loss for words. Giving up the Arrow hadn't just been something he had said in the spur of the moment at the hospital, he'd been thinking about it. She knew he wanted a life with her - they were married after all - but giving up the Arrow - she thought he would need to have a double knee replacement before he'd even consider it. She lifted onto her toes and kissed him. "Okay."

His shoulders relaxed and he kissed the tip of her nose. "Okay."

She rubbed her knuckles against his scruff. "If you believe being mayor of Starling is the best way to save the city, so you can eventually put the hood away, then let's run for mayor."

Oliver broke out into a huge smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but full disclosure, Mr. Mayor, I'm not going to be a typical politician's wife."

He laughed. "Felicity, you've never been a typical anything."

"Well, that trend will continue. I'm not going to be some empty headed wife who is going to smile adoringly at you and tell people not to take drugs. Not that people should take drugs, I mean, of course I'll say that they shouldn't take drugs, but that's not my point." He smiled indulgently at her as she took a deep breath. "My point is, I'm going to be the CEO of a multinational corporation. I'll have things -  important CEO things to do that might make me unavailable to do First Lady of Starling City things like cut ribbons and host teas."

"Yes, Madame CEO." He pulled her tightly to his chest and kissed her and they toppled back onto the sofa. "No adoring smiles. No drug speeches. No ribbon cuttings and definitely no tea parties. I think we can make it work."

She bit her lip, "Well, I think I'm fooling myself about the adoring smiles." She pulled on his shirt and he sat up to pull it over his head.

A devilish grin spread across his face. "So, about this pig in the poke?"

She couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing. His face lit up at her reaction. She knew without a doubt that as long as she had him by her side, they could accomplish anything they set their minds to. She crooked a finger at him. "Come here and I'll show you."

VVVVV

Felicity's happiest childhood memories all revolved around holidays and Aunt Rosie's kitchen. Rosh Hashanah had always been one of her favorites and not only because she loved to cover everything in honey. The holiday marked the start of the New Year and coincided with the beginning of a new school year. For a kid whose whole world revolved around the school year, September was her favorite month.

Delicious smells had been filling Rosie's apartment for days as she baked enough to feed a small army, which, according to Roy, Team Arrow was. Dinner was over and Oliver, Dig, Walter and Roy were busy in the kitchen doing dishes while Felicity, Thea and Lyla sat giggling in the living room watching Sara throw an impromptu dance party. Rosie entered the living room carrying a long, flat box that she placed onto the coffee table. Felicity gave her a questioning look which was ignored as Rosie disappeared into the kitchen.

"Who wants coffee?" Oliver asked from the doorway of the kitchen.

Sara immediately stopped dancing, glanced at Felicity and raised one chubby hand in the air. She toddled over to Oliver and he scooped her into his arms when she tugged on his pants. "Do you want coffee?" Oliver asked as he tickled her tummy. Sara nodded her head adamantly. "Really?" He asked again as he lifted her up over his head and rubbed his beard against her tummy. Sara squealed in delight as she grabbed two fistfuls of his hair. He lowered Sara back into the cradle of his arm. "Do you want coffee?" Sara shook her head. "Who wants coffee?" He asked her in a whisper. Sara brought both fists up against her chest and squeezed her lips together before she pointed to Felicity.

"Traitor." Felicity grumbled from her seat on the sofa. "Us girls are supposed to stick together, Sara."

Sara ducked her head and rested it against Oliver's neck. He rubbed small circles across her back. "Who loves Uncle Oliver the most?" She giggled as she took his face between her hands and placed a wet kiss to his cheek. "How much does Uncle Oliver love you?" Sara pulled away from him and threw her arms wide. "That much?" Oliver asked in feigned disbelief. "Are you sure?" She nodded her head vigorously. "Should I get Aunt Felicity a cup of coffee?"

Sara turned in Oliver's arms to look at Felicity. "No."

Thea laughed and mumbled under her breath. "Another woman succumbs to my brother's charms."

"You're very smart. Your Aunt Felicity drinks way too much coffee. It isn't good for her." Oliver put Sara down and she returned to her spot in front of the television and resumed her dance party. "Thea? Lyla?"

"No, thank you." Lyla said as she gave Felicity an apologetic look for her daughter's betrayal.

Thea stood from her spot on the floor. "No coffee for me, but I will have more wine."

Oliver leaned over the back of the sofa and placed a kiss below Felicity's ear. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Really?" She asked trying not to sound to hopeful.

He smiled and kissed her again. "It is a holiday."

Felicity looked at the time and sighed. She'd never fall asleep if she drank caffeine. "No, thank you." He moved to straighten up when a terrifying thought occurred to her. She clasped the hand resting on her shoulder. "Is this how it's going to be if we have kids? You'll turn them against me?"

Oliver kissed the top of her head. "If they're half as smart as you and I don't get them on my side while they're still young, I'll always be out maneuvered."

The smile on Oliver's face made Felicity happier than she ever thought possible. "And if they're half as charming as you, I won't care if they always take your side."

Roy groaned. "Please, if they're half as smart as you and half as charming as him, I'm pretty sure we're all going to be in trouble when they're teenagers." Oliver picked up a throw pillow and playfully hit Roy in the chest with it. Roy clutched the pillow to his chest and pointedly looked at Thea. "I'm not the only one who thinks your children will either save the world or become criminal masterminds."

"Hey." Oliver and Felicity said together.

"You think your niece or nephew will be a criminal mastermind?" Oliver asked Thea.

Thea shrugged. "Don't worry, if they're anything like you, they'll be getting into trouble by the time their fourteen, and if they're anything like her, they'll be too smart to get caught so you'll be blissfully ignorant."

Felicity and Oliver looked at each other with terror.

Dig came out of the kitchen and slapped Oliver on the back and handed Felicity a cup of coffee. "Once you have kids, you'll never sleep again - might as well get use to it."

Felicity put the coffee next to Rosie's box and laughed nervously. "We haven't decided if we're even having kids. Right?" She asked Oliver who nodded. "Why worry about the propensity for our future hypothetical children to be charming criminal geniuses?"

Walter exited the kitchen and took the glass of wine from Thea's hand as he passed her. "I, for one, am looking forward to being a grandfather one day and I have no doubt that your children will bring as much joy to you as Oliver and Thea brought to Moira." Walter suddenly had a mischievous grin. "Although, the stories Moira told me about these two as children were quite entertaining if not a little hair raising."

"With what hair, exactly?" Thea teased as she placed a kiss to her step-father's bald pate and retrieved her wine glass from his hand.

Felicity flopped over and rested her head on the empty seat cushion next to her. "Oh my god, we're doomed."

"Ignore them," Rosie said coming out of the kitchen, "they're just teasing. If you decide to have children, they will be beautiful and smart and caring - just like both of their parents." She sat down next to Felicity. "Oliver, please sit down. I would like to give you something."

Oliver sat beside Felicity and Rosie placed the white box across their knees. He lifted the lid and moved several layers of tissue paper to the side. Felicity let out a small gasp as Oliver revealed the tallit to the room.

"It belonged to my Al. It originally belonged to his grandfather and he'd hoped to pass it on to his own grandson, but after our Beth died, he never brought it up again until he was dying. He asked me to give it to Felicity, for her son, but," she smiled at Oliver, "I think he would've liked for you to have it."

Oliver's fingers reverently traced across the prayer shawl. "Rosie, I'm honored. I know how you and Felicity loved Al." He placed the tallit back in the box and rose from the sofa. He gently pulled Rosie to her feet and into his embrace. "Thank you. For this and for everything."

Felicity sat on the sofa stunned. Tears flowed down her cheeks as memories of going to temple with her uncle raced through her head. She could see her uncle place a kiss to the tallit before he placed it across his shoulders. She lifted the shawl to her nose and inhaled deeply. She thought she could smell his aftershave and peppermint. She clutched the garment to her chest and smiled at her aunt. One day soon the tallit would smell of Oliver and one day, in what she hoped was the distant future, it would be handed down to one of their own descendants.  


Felicity looked around the room at the people she loved and was happy. She realized that there were invisible strings that connected her to everyone in the room and to many that weren't present. Before Oliver and Team Arrow, she'd thought that the ties that bound her to people were a noose around her neck - obstacles and distractions that would keep her from achieving her dreams, but she finally realized that the ties that bound her to all the people she loved and who loved her in return were a blessing and not a burden. Yes, Rosh Hashanah was one of Felicity's favorite holidays. It held happy memories of the past, promises of a fresh start and hope for a future where she and Oliver and their family would build new memories together.

Oliver knelt in front of Felicity and wrapped his arms around her knees and gently pulled her forward to the edge of the sofa. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "L'Shana Tova, Felicity."

The saying didn't mean Happy New Year as it was often mistranslated. It meant hope for a good year. She kissed him back. "L'Shana Tova, Oliver."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for following me to the end. You have been excellent company.
> 
> Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> Up Next: I'm working on a new multi chapter fic. Season 3 continues to haunt me and I'm going to attempt to retell it in such a way that' we'll all feel better about it. I hope you will join me again when I start posting The Sword and the Shield.
> 
> I wish you and your family a joyous holiday season and a very good 2016.
> 
> Until we meet again. xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> Up Next: Vic asks Felicity for a favor.


End file.
